Schemes
by Teacher Yumi
Summary: Yoshino, Sei and the whole gang are scheming to help Yumi and Sachiko to get back together. They think that without their help, the two will never make a move to reconcile…not having any clue as to how wrong they are. (SEQUEL to "Still")
1. Prologue

**Schemes: Prologue**

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Disclaimer: Maria-sama ga Miteru and its characters are not mine. Credits to the author.

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A/N: Hey there everyone. 'Schemes' is a continuation of 'Still' and is set one week after Sachiko and Yumi's reconciliation. The story will still revolve around my two favourite characters, but the genre (as you've noticed in the story profile) is different because it is leaning more on the romance/humour side, but I hope you enjoy reading anyway! This is rated T for now, just to be safe, but may change in later chapters.

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Yoshino cursed loudly when she heard her phone's alarm buzz. The sound reverberated in her room making her head ache. She had set it at full volume, just to be sure that she didn't miss it, unaware that she would not be having a wink of sleep anyway due to her anxiousness.

She had stayed at her parent's house so she and Rei could leave together. The sound seemed to have awakened her mother because moments later, she noticed the fluorescent outside of her room was switched on judging from the light through the crack at the bottom of her bedroom door. It was followed by a frantic knock and her mother's voice telling her to get up.

After telling her mother that she was up, she proceeded to dress before heading down for breakfast. Yoshino was not surprised to find her partner sitting at their dining table, having breakfast with both their mothers.

The most awaited vacation came earlier than Yoshino expected. Just last week, Sei called to inform her that she had already booked a flight and they will proceed with the planned reunion. Yoshino vividly remembered how angry she had been. She was thinking about all the work that needed to be done just to get the reunion going and Sei only gave her a week to prepare. She did not hold back and voiced out her complaints to her senior.

 _After her long tirade, Sei-sama finally said. "Are you done?"_

 _Yoshino did not speak, she was still breathing hard and was overflowing with irritation._

" _Good" the older woman said. "I would like to inform you that we have already booked the resort. We have also informed Shimako and Eriko about it. Also, I have just received a message from Shimako that she had contacted Noriko-chan. All three of them agreed to come. My imouto also said that Noriko-chan will be the one to inform Touko-chan and Nana-chan about it. Any more questions?"_

" _We?"_

" _What?"_

" _You used_ ** _we_** _."_

" _Out of all the things I have said, that is what got you curious? Aren't you even going to say how wonderful a person I am to have prepared all this?"_

 _After not hearing a response, Sei-sama continued with a sigh "Youko."_

" _I knew it!" Yoshino exclaimed. "I thought I heard Youko-sama's voice when we spoke months before."_

" _Well, congratulations for figuring it out. Now, going back to this reunion. All you need to do is to book a flight because our destination is an island resort overseas. I will send you the reservation details via email."_

" _Why not just have the vacation here in Japan?" Yoshino inquired._

" _I've been to this resort once,_ ** _with_** _Youko. I can vouch for how wonderful this place is. Also, there will be a beach party this coming weekend."_

" _Now that explains it. You just want to have some fun."_

 _By the sound of Sei-sama's voice, Yoshino knew she was smiling widely, "Of course I want to have some fun! You have no idea how great it is to party all day and night, on the beach, with overflowing alcohol and surrounded by beautiful people in bikinis!"_

" _I'm sure you're the only person among us who would find that setting amazing. You know how conservative Shimako-san and Sachiko-sama are, right?" Yoshino sounded exasperated. "And besides, this is supposed to be a reunion among friends. You know, coming from an all-girls' Catholic school, we just want to spend some quiet time catching up."_

" _Now you're sounding so much like Youko."_

" _Where is Youko-sama, by the way?"_

" _She's out buying groceries."_

 _That explains how she can say all those things, Yoshino's thought._

After that, Yoshino contacted each of her former Yamayurikai friends to inform them of the reunion. Everyone agreed to the schedule, all except Yumi. Apparently, her best friend has an on-going major project that needed to be completed within the week and she would not be allowed to take a Vacation Leave, unless she finished her work.

After much persuading from Yoshino's end, she was eventually able to convince her best friend. Yumi said that she will just be rendering overtime the whole week to make sure that she has everything done before they leave.

Yoshino took care of booking their flight.

"Hey Yoshino. Are you just going to stand there? We're going to be late." Rei's voice shook her out of her musing.

She snapped back to attention and proceeded to sit down. After a quick breakfast, they loaded their luggage in the back of the car. Her uncle volunteered to drive them to the airport. And just as they were about to leave, Rei's phone vibrated.

"Rei?"

It was Sachiko.

"I will not be able to make it." Rei flashed a worried look to Yoshino.

"Earlier, I missed my flight going back to Japan. But I have already booked a direct flight, so I will meet you at the resort." Sachiko's voice sounded worried and somewhat irritated.

At first, Rei had been against Yoshino's desperate desire to play cupid between their friends. She wanted to respect Yumi and Sachiko's privacy and decided to only help when either one of them specifically asked for it.

So what changed her mind?

First had been Yoshino's overwhelming enthusiasm for the _project_. Saying that Sachiko was too stubborn and proud to ever ask for help. While Yumi would rather shoulder her burden alone, rather than bother anyone else with her problems. Yoshino even stressed that the two clearly still loved each other, but their own concerns were making it hard for them to take the first step. Yoshino just wanted to set the stage, give them an opportunity to talk. But whether or not they grab the chance offered, was up to them.

Rei doubted that. She knew her partner well enough to know that Yoshino will not only give them an _opportunity_ as she would like to call it. Yoshino will shove it down their throats so that they will have no choice but act on it. And this gave her a headache.

The second and bigger reason why she agreed to help was because of her embarrassment. During the time when her close friend bared her secrets and cried her heart out to her, she let it slip that Yumi was planning to visit her to clear up their misunderstanding. But judging from the lack of news from both Sachiko and Yumi's end, it appeared as if more than half a year had passed and the younger of the two still hadn't made her move. Thus, if Yumi didn't initiate any conversation with Sachiko, then Rei felt like she did nothing but give her close friend false hope.

So after she ended the call, Rei squared her shoulders and convinced herself that this time she would make it up to her close friend and really make that conversation happen. Sachiko needs her.

These were the same thoughts in Yoshino's head. She had been holding back from meddling in her best friend's affairs. But this time, she will boldly step in. With the support of the other Yamayurikai members, she will surely do something to help Yumi. She is the only one who can help Yumi through her ordeal with Sachiko. Yoshino had been sure of it.

How wrong she had been.

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A/N: That was just a teaser ^^

Hey there again! First, I would like to thank **imoshen88** , as she continue to be a great help in this story.

Dear readers! If you read chapter 13 of 'Still' I did mention about the vacation which, as you may have already guessed, is the setting of this story. You also may have figured it out, but Yoshino and Rei (and all of their friends) remain to be unaware that Yumi and Sachiko already reconciled. As to why they kept it a secret, you will soon find out! Anyway, let me know your thoughts.


	2. What Yumi Forgot

**What Yumi Forgot**

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Disclaimer: Maria-sama ga Miteru and its characters are not mine. Credits to the author.

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Yumi prayed that she would make it in time. She had work to finish the night before and only had 2 hours of sleep. Thankfully, Yuuki woke her up and helped her to finish packing her things. Her brother also volunteered to drive her to the airport. Getting her boarding pass and clearing immigration had thankfully been a breeze, probably because their flight was scheduled very early in the morning and there were very few passengers in the usually busy airport. She ran the length of the airport until she reached her boarding gate and was only able to breathe the moment she sat down on her designated seat.

"Onee-sama" Touko said with a worried voice.

Her imouto had done the online check-in the day before and was able to save adjacent seats.

Yumi was still panting from all the running she did, but still forced herself to face her seour to give her a smile. "I had work" she said in between deep breaths.

"Yuuki told me about it when we talked last night."

Her breathing finally calmed down, "that explains why he is awake this early to pull me out of bed. You asked him to wake me up, didn't you?" Yumi said as she looked at her seour affectionately. "Thank you Touko" she gently touched Touko's cheek and this brought an adorable blush to the younger woman's face.

"Ahem" Yoshino peeked over the top of Yumi's chair, "we're also here Yumi-san" she said.

Yumi looked up and smiled. Between the chairs' gap, she saw that on the row behind them were Yoshino, Rei and Nana. And she looked on the other side and saw Shimako seated beside Noriko, both of whom gave her a wave.

A flight stewardess approached Yoshino and asked her to go back to her seat and fasten her seatbelt, they were about to take off. Yoshino blushed in embarrassment before obliging, while Rei and Nana didn't even bother to hide their mirth.

There was someone missing, Yumi thought. She had been so busy these past few days and had been in such a hurry early that morning that she forgot to text _her_. Yumi suddenly sat up straight when she realized that she wasn't sure if she brought her phone. All of her belongings were inside the bag in the overhead compartment, and there was no way she would be allowed to get it.

"Onee-sama? Is something wrong?"

"I think I forgot my phone."

"We're on vacation, I guess it will be okay. I have mine. So if you need to send a message to Miki oba-sama as soon as we arrive, you can use my phone."

Yumi closed her mouth shut, deciding against telling her imouto that it was not her mother she wanted to contact.

Just last week, before she headed off to bed, she received a call from Yoshino about this trip. She has an on-going assignment and since the initial submission was due in a week's time, she knew she would not be allowed to take a Vacation Leave until she finished the task assigned to her. She had asked Yoshino if it was possible to move the outing to a later date, but she said that arrangements and reservations had already been made. So in the end, after much persuasion from Yoshino (and Yoshino would not let it rest until she got her way and made Yumi agree), Yumi said 'yes'. She then called Sachiko to ask if she would be joining on the trip…

" _Sachiko?"_

" _Yumi…"_

 _Her heart skipped at beat upon hearing that lovely voice. Yumi still couldn't believe that they were back together, it felt like a dream._

" _I miss you" She couldn't stop herself from saying those words, before getting to the true purpose of her call._

 _Sachiko chuckled softly, "I miss you too. Is that the only reason for this call?"_

" _I am guessing Rei-sama called you just now?"_

" _And Yoshino-chan just spoke with you?"_

" _Yes" they said at the same time, making them both laugh._

" _So, are you coming?" Yumi asked._

" _I think I can make arrangements. I have a scheduled meeting the day before our trip and I am afraid it will be a lot of trouble to re-schedule it. However, if I can catch a late night flight back to Japan, I think I can still make it in time for our departure. It seems they really have everything organized for this vacation already, including hotel reservations and flight bookings." Sachiko said._

" _I got the same feeling."_

" _So how about you, will you be able to make it? I will have you know that I may consider not joining this reunion if you're not going." Sachiko said with a slight hint of finality._

 _Yumi smiled, "No need to pressure me Sachiko, Yoshino was actually able to persuade me to go."_

" _So you mean, Yoshino is better at persuading you than me?"_

 _Her smile turned into a laugh, "Of course not. Just tell me to go, you don't even have to persuade me, and I will gladly oblige."_

" _Is that so?" and Yumi knew her answer brought a smile to her lover's face._

" _Should we tell them?" Yumi asked._

" _We can break the news to everyone when we're there. That way, we don't have to repeat the same news over and over again. I was actually considering letting Rei know, but I have a feeling that Yoshino-chan may feel bad if Rei hears about it first. Did you tell Yoshino-chan?"_

" _Not yet. I wanted to get your permission first."_

 _Sachiko didn't respond and there was silence at the other end of the line for a moment._

" _Sachiko?"_

" _I missed that."_

" _What?"_

" _You asking for my permission."_

" _Sachiko…"_

" _You have no idea how badly I wanted to know what you're doing every day. Where you go, what keeps you busy, who you're with… I'm sorry if that doesn't make any sense."_

" _No, I understand" and Yumi sincerely did._

 _After a few seconds of silence, "I love you Yumi"_

 _Sachiko's heartfelt words touched her, "And I love you, Sachiko."_

" _Yumi, are you okay?"_

 _Her voice must have cracked slightly._

" _No. Don't worry about it. Anyway, I agree. Let's just tell them about it during our trip."_

" _By the way, you mentioned that Yoshino-chan had to persuade you. Is this trip in conflict with your schedule?"_

" _Actually, I have an on-going project. The deadline for the initial draft is by the end of the week. The review will take another week and during that time, I will be free until my drafts will be returned for revision. But since it is not possible to move the schedule of our outing, I will just be rendering overtime to finish my work in time for our vacation."_

" _Do you need me to talk to your boss?"_

" _No. I can handle it Sachiko."_

" _Okay, but if you need my help, just let me know. Don't overwork yourself. Anyway, I need to go. You will text and call me, right?"_

" _Of course, every day." Yumi confirmed._

The plane started taxying and it shook Yumi out of her recollection. Her heart beat loudly against their chest. Is _she_ not coming?

Yumi frantically looked around, but realized soon enough that it was useless because she could only see the faces of the people in her row. She was not allowed to stand up so it was difficult to look behind her. While the high back rests were hindering her view of the people in front.

The plane soon lifted off of the ground and Yumi felt her stomach lurch as they became airborne. She doesn't have motion sickness like _her_ , but that didn't stop her insides from feeling uncomfortable during take-off.

Yumi was tapping her fingers on the armrest due to impatience. Her eyes were glued to the overhead signs, waiting for the fasten seatbelt sign to be switched off. Her fingers stopped moving when she felt Touko's hand on hers.

"Onee-sama?"

"It's nothing Touko" she said, trying to put on a smile which she knew turned out to be a grimace.

Her imouto's eyebrows creased, "You're looking for Sachiko-sama, aren't you?" she whispered.

Yumi snapped her head to look at Touko.

"She told Rei-sama that she will fly directly there. She was still overseas until yesterday and was unable to make it on her flight back to Japan last night."

Yumi's face must have visibly relaxed and it mirrored in Touko's.

Touko tightened her grip on her onee-sama's hand before she proceeded to say in a hushed voice, "you never told me what happened at your conversation with Sachiko-sama."**

"We never had the chance to talk after that lunch with Sayako oba-sama and Touru oji-sama. But I promise, I will tell you all about it when we get to the resort." Yumi whispered back. She couldn't tell Touko, not yet, despite knowing what her little sister had hinted at. She couldn't say anything yet because she had promised Sachiko that they together would announce the status of their relationship to everyone.

Touko just gave her a sweet smile in response and proceeded to caress her onee-sama's hand as Yumi leaned back on her chair again.

Then suddenly, Yumi's exhaustion and lack of sleep made her drowsy and her eyelids heavy. It must have been because she was staring too intently at the 'unfasten seatbelt' sign earlier while the plane was moving, somehow making her dizzy. Her seat was also comfortable and Touko's hand on hers relaxed her nerves. It was not long after when she reluctantly submitted to her body's need for rest. Thus, all thoughts of looking for her phone or checking if _she_ sent her any messages were lost the moment she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

When she finally woke up, the stewardess was already asking them to fasten their seatbelts back on, in preparation for landing. Touko handed her an immigration card, which her little sister had already filled out for her. "What did I do to deserve a little sister like you?" she asked.

"There are so many things you've done for me that I've lost count." Touko responded.

Yumi proceeded to squeeze the younger woman's hand in response before she remembered that she again failed to check if she had her phone. She sighed. She will never hear the end of it from Sachiko.

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The moment Yumi laid eyes on the view, her breath caught in her throat. The sea was a brilliant green which shone as the water's surface was hit by sunlight. The water was so clear that she could see the white sand underneath. There were small colourful schools of fish swimming about. The actual beach was a few minutes' walk from their cabana, but it was not an issue seeing as their wooden cabin was built on top of the water. All they really needed to do was jump in. There was a Jacuzzi on the side and reclining beach chairs in front.

"Isn't it wonderful Yumi-chan."

The hair at the back of Yumi's neck stood up as Sei's warm breath tingled her skin. She instinctively jumped away from the woman and almost lost her balance. Sei grabbed her by the arm, yanked her towards her and embraced her.

"Yumi-chan is still as huggable as ever" Sei said as she rubbed her face against Yumi's hair.

Yumi just smiled. She would not give the older woman the pleasure by being her old self. So instead of desperately try to escape her grasp, she just said "I missed you Sei-sama."

Sei immediately pulled away. "What have you done with my Yumi-chan?!" she exclaimed dramatically.

"She grew up Sei." Came Youko's exasperated voice.

"It's good to see you Youko-sama" Yumi greeted. "Since when did you arrive here?"

"Just yesterday." Youko replied with a smile.

Sei proceeded to stand beside Youko. Looking at them standing alongside each other, Yumi had the feeling that their relationship had changed from the last time she saw them. She decided to keep this detail to herself and just smiled.

"You look good Yumi-chan" Sei said. "I heard you are using that good looks of yours to lure innocent men, only to eventually break their hearts. Good thing I was miles away, otherwise, I would have been victimized by you."

"Stop it Sei" Youko slapped Sei's shoulders and by the look of it to Yumi, it was not just playful banter.

"Ouch. You don't know your own strength Youko." Sei said.

"That's what you get for teasing my granddaughter."

Yumi giggled.

"But Sei-sama was telling the truth, Youko-sama. Yumi-san has been a heart breaker since…"

Yumi furrowed her brow and gave a look to her best friend, as if asking her not to say another word. At that moment, Rei stepped in front of Yoshino, "sorry about that Yumi-chan" she said.

"No need to defend her Rei." Came a very familiar voice.

Rei's face broke into a delighted smile upon seeing the older woman, "Onee-sama!"

Rei rushed to embrace Eriko, "I thought you would not be able to join us?" she said.

"I was able to persuade my husband to let me go. But in exchange, I have him tagging along."

"So much for a reunion. You have a chaperone." Sei commented.

"No need to worry, he will stay in our room, while we ladies have fun." Eriko responded.

Yumi's heart was filled with happiness at the sight of the three former roses together. They have surely matured. But by the look in their eyes and the way they conversed, she could easily tell that they are still the good friends that they used to be so many years back.

"Yumi-san" Shimako approached her.

"Shimako-san. We are both in Tokyo, but we rarely have the chance to really meet." Yumi said.

"Yes. Also the chaos in the airport earlier made it difficult for us to say 'hi'. I even tried talking to you in the van on our way here to the resort, but you seemed to have fallen asleep." Shimako giggled.

Yumi blushed, "I'm sorry about that. I was just too exhausted."

Yoshino walked towards them, "are you having a catch-up session without me?"

They then proceeded to sit on the beach chairs and started sharing stories. While Yoshino's petite seour, Nana, went to speak with Touko and Noriko.

Despite only putting down their bags and still being in their regular clothes, each group of roses chatted happily trying to fill-in the years they had been apart with stories about their current lives.

"I feel so out of place" Rei suddenly announced. Everyone's attention turned to Rei.

All of a sudden, Yumi felt like she had forgotten something. It was a nagging voice at the edge of her consciousness. But she was once again distracted when she heard Eriko speak.

"Come here my cute little petite seour" Eriko stood up and pulled Rei to their group.

Yoshino, not being one to lose, especially not to Rei's grande seour, rushed to grab her partner's other arm. "No. Join us Rei-chan!" Yoshino exclaimed.

Eriko's eyes lit with delight and Sei couldn't help but roll her eyes. Yoshino just riled up Eriko again.

"Says who Yoshino-chan?" Eriko said. "Rei, would please tell your _little sister_ that you would rather be with your onee-sama. You're always together. Surely, Yoshino-chan wouldn't mind if I borrow her _Rei-chan_ for a moment."

Rei shook her head. _Here they go again_ , she thought.

"Yoshino…" Rei began, but stopped upon seeing the person who just arrived.

Everyone followed Rei's gaze and mixed reactions erupted from the group.

It was Sachiko.

Yumi froze at the angry look in her lover's eyes.

She's in trouble.

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**Please refer to chapter 16 of Still.

A/N: And there you have it! The actual start of their vacation! I hope you enjoyed the gathering of the four generations of roses. Let me know your thoughts.


	3. Touko Dilemma

**Touko's Dilemma**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Maria-sama ga Miteru or any of its characters.

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Sachiko had arrived, she was still in her business attire and she was sporting an irritated look.

The reason for that was the series of misfortunes she had just experienced that made her miss her flight going back to Japan. She felt extremely annoyed to be stuck in the airport of a foreign country for hours, _alone_ , instead of finally being with Yumi and their friends. It had been the worst. Add to that, the only person that would alleviate her frustration and supposedly make her feel better, did not answer any of her numerous calls. Yumi didn't even bother to send her a message or call her the moment they arrived at the resort.

That was why, instead of feeling relieved upon finally seeing _her_ face, Sachiko couldn't stop herself from being angry.

"Are you okay?" Youko asked.

"Just tired onee-sama." Sachiko replied, momentarily hiding her annoyance as she faced her grande seour that she hadn't seen in a long time.

Youko hugged her little sister briefly "we're on vacation Sachiko, what better way to relax, right?"

Sachiko allowed a small smile to tug on her lips. She truly missed her onee-sama.

Everyone also approached to welcome Sachiko and to continue the exchange of stories that halted when she arrived. There was something about meeting old friends, that they haven't seen for years, that made them momentarily forget about their lack of sleep and their exhaustion.

Meanwhile, Yumi remained frozen in her seat, unsure of what to do or how to react.

This didn't go unnoticed by Yoshino and Sei, thinking that Yumi and Sachiko's previous misunderstanding was the reason behind the obvious hostility.

After a nod to Yoshino, Sei clapped her hands together and called everyone to attention. "I know we have so many stories to tell, but most of you have just arrived. I suggest you first go to your rooms, rest for a bit and change into more comfortable clothes before we head out to lunch." She then fished out the room key cards from her pocket and handed a pair to Shimako.

"There should be at least 5 persons to a cabin and each has 2 rooms. Shimako, Noriko-chan, Rei, Yoshino-chan and Nana-chan will be in one cabana." Sei explained. "Yoshino-chan, you can share a room with Rei, so don't be greedy and allow Rei to spend some time with her onee-sama. Okay?" Sei winked at Eriko.

Yoshino puffed her cheeks, which Eriko happily poked with her finger. While Rei just stood beside her sisters and sighed.

Sei handed the next key card to Touko, "you, with Yumi-chan and Sachiko, will be in the same cabin as me and Youko."

"I am just a few cabins away, with my husband. I can easily join in on the fun." Eriko added.

Nobody reacted to the room assignments. Rei looked at Sei before moving her gaze to Sachiko, worried that her close friend had figured out the plan. But Sachiko's face remained expressionless.

Contrastingly, Yoshino was finding it hard to hide her smirk so she purposefully turned away from the group. Shimako seemed to have caught up on what Yoshino was thinking and what her own onee-sama was doing. She knew about Sachiko and Yumi's previous relationship. She also knew that they broke up so many years ago. Obviously, the two conspirators are playing cupid by putting the two ex-lovers in the same cabin. And judging from the room assignment, it seemed obvious that they will not have a choice but to also share the same room.

On the other hand, Touko was worried. Because if there are two rooms per cabin and there are five of them, who will she share a room with? From Youko and Sei's body language, she could easily infer that they are a couple. The same goes for her onee-sama and Sachiko-sama. Touko knew that it is highly possible that they are already back together. But as to why there is a tense atmosphere between them was something she hasn't figured out yet. So staying with either of the two couples will surely be very awkward.

Sei seemed to have noticed Touko's dilemma and immediately said, "You could share a room with me and Youko, Touko-chan. I don't mind threesomes."

"Sei-sama!" Touko exclaimed blushing.

"Oh my, that would be fun!" Eriko said laughing.

Sei suddenly yelped in pain when Youko pulled her ear.

The commotion snapped Yumi from her daze.

"Ignore what Sei said, Touko-chan. You can stay with us if you like and I can promise you that you will remain untouched and unharmed." Youko said with a sincere smile to Touko.

"I'd also be more than happy if you would share a room with…" Yumi paused, spared a sideward glance at Sachiko before continuing, "…me (not _us_ , Touko thought). There won't be any problems." Yumi said reassuringly.

Usually, Touko believes anything her onee-sama says. But by the worried look on Yumi's face, an expression she knew her onee-sama was trying to mask with a smile, Touko knew that there _will_ be complications if she stayed with her, or _them_ for that matter.

"I'm tired, can you tell me where _my_ room is?" Sachiko suddenly said with an emotionless voice, looking at Sei.

"This is actually the cabin where Shimako and her group will be staying." Sei said, still rubbing her sore ear. "Ours is just on the other side."

"Then please lead the way." Sachiko's voice was clipped and sharp.

At this, Sei waved good bye to the rest of their friends and walked on towards their cabin. She was closely followed by Sachiko, then by Youko.

Touko similarly picked-up her things and followed her seniors silently, still agonizing about which room she will be staying in.

"You can go on ahead. I'll hang around here for a bit" Yumi suddenly announced.

Sachiko stopped in her tracks and turned to face her, "Do you have issues with me Yumi?"

The temperature seemed to have dropped and they were enveloped by a thick curtain of tension.

Everyone noticed the conflicted expression on Yumi's face and the cold look in Sachiko's eyes and each person has their own interpretation as to what those expressions meant.

Rei sighed. Just as she feared, their vacation hasn't even started yet and her cousin's ploys are already causing an awkward tension in the group. Or at least, that's what Rei thought was happening.

Yoshino clenched her fist, convincing herself that she was doing the right thing. She knew from the start that getting them to reconcile wouldn't be easy, she just didn't expect that Sachiko and Yumi will be this adamant to fix their misunderstanding.

"Umm..." Sei started, awkwardly looking from Sachiko to Yumi, "We only have more than an hour before lunch Yumi-chan. I suggest you come with us so you could freshen up and get some rest."

Yumi held Sachiko's gaze for a moment, before sighing and agreeing to come with them.

The moment Yumi got hold of her things, Sachiko proceeded to walk ahead of the group.

* * *

As soon as the five roses were out of their sight, Eriko spoke. "What are you scheming Yoshino-chan?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked innocently.

"Come on. Spill it. It's more fun if everyone's in on the secret. It clearly has something to do with Sachiko and Yumi-chan." Eriko said.

Yoshino looked at the resigned expression on Rei's face before saying, "Okay, it's nothing grand. We just want Yumi-san and Sachiko-sama to fix their misunderstanding."

"So I had been right." Shimako mumbled.

Yoshino spared their friend a glance before continuing, "But by the look on Sachiko-sama's face, it seems she is not willing to reconcile."

"Are you aiming for them to be lovers again?" Eriko's eyes lit up with excitement.

"It would be great if that would happen. But for now, giving them a chance to talk and at least be friends will be more than enough. They had a fight and hadn't spoken with each other for more than half a year. It's just frustrating that they continue to bear the sadness of being separated, despite still having feelings for each other." Yoshino explained.

Eriko clicked her tongue. "That is such as short-sighted goal Yoshino-chan. I say we get Sachiko and Yumi-chan drunk and lock them in a room together. Wouldn't that be even more exciting? Talking is boring." Eriko said enthusiastically.

"You're really supporting Yoshino on this, onee-sama?" Rei said as she gently massaged her temples, feeling an impending headache.

"Or we could make Sachiko-sama jealous." Came Noriko's thoughtful voice.

"Noriko?" Shimako's eyes widened.

"Ah...I mean, it's just an idea." Noriko fretted as her face flushed.

"They are not even willing to share a room." Rei said exasperatedly.

"I think Sachiko-sama is more open to this room assignment than Yumi-sama is." Nana said.

"Then perhaps, only Yumi-sama is reluctant to settle their issues?" Noriko chimed in.

"I don't think so. Yumi-san told me that she will speak with Sachiko-sama to clear their misunderstanding. But that was more than half a year ago, and they still haven't talked." Yoshino answered.

Eriko raised her eyebrows, "How sure are you? For all we know, they are already back together and are just keeping it a secret."

"By the irritated look on Sachiko-sama's face, that doesn't seem to be the case." Noriko replied.

"Well, let us just wait and see what happens. We will be meeting them over lunch. We should just settle in for now and take some rest." Rei said.

* * *

Sei took hurried steps to catch up to Sachiko.

"Why are you so irritated?" Sei asked, as soon as she was able to walk beside the still visibly irritated _oujo-sama_.

"Really Sei-sama, you don't know why?" To Sei, it sounded sarcastic.

Sei acted innocently, "Honestly I don't know."

"Then I will let you figure it out by yourself. Aren't we there yet?" Sachiko asked impatiently.

"You're so cold Sachiko. If you hate being in the same room as Yumi-chan so much, then I will gladly trade with you. You can stay with your onee-sama so Yumi-chan, Touko-chan and I can have some fun."

Sachiko stopped walking. By the look in her eyes, she seem to be considering carefully her next words.

"I won't break Yumi-chan. I promise." Sei added playfully.

Sachiko pursed her lips and continued walking. Obviously trying hard not to get riled up by her senior's schemes.

Sei stopped in front of one cabin, indicating that they have reached theirs. But before badging in the key, she looked at Sachiko with serious eyes and said, "Just say it Sachiko. Do you want to be _together_ with Yumi-chan or not?"

Sachiko met her eyes and try as she might, Sei couldn't seem to figure out what was on the younger woman's mind. Unknowingly to Sei, Sachiko suddenly snatched the key card from her hand, pressed it against the door lock and proceeded to open the door.

Sei, surprised at Sachiko's sudden action stood rooted to the spot. While Youko, who was watching the exchange just smirked and in a hushed voice she said, "Don't irritate my petite seour anymore _dear_. She is on edge as it is. So unless you want a hysterical princess breaking every item in our cabin, I would suggest you hold onto your _plans_ to annoy her until she's calmed down for a bit."

Yumi and Touko were last to enter and gave the two whispering seniors a suspicious glance.

"Don't mind Sei. She just received a scolding from Sachiko." Youko said.

 _Oh_ , the seours seemed to think before proceeding to go inside. Youko also went to pull Sei by the arm on her way in and closed the door behind her.

Sachiko was standing in the small sitting room, which was adorned by fluffy couches. It was facing double glass doors that led to a wooden deck outside, much like the other cabin they just vacated. It has a magnificent view of the sea. Sachiko was waiting for further directions from the seniors. Her face was still a stoic mask and her lips remain pursed.

Youko approached her petite seour, "Sorry about Sei, Sachiko. That is the door to your room." Youko said indicating the door to the right. Then she added with a small smile, "Unless you wanted me for a roommate instead of Yumi-chan?"

In front of her onee-sama, Sachiko's irritation lessened. The question seemed to have taken her by surprise because that offer, coming from her own onee-sama, rather than that promiscuous senior, made it feel like it was a genuine suggestion. She was unable to hide the conflicting emotions that flashed in her eyes.

"Sachiko?" Youko touched her shoulder.

"Umm, no onee-sama. I have no issues in staying in the same room as Yumi" she said in a small voice, "…and Touko-chan" she added a little louder.

The women turned to face the youngest in the group. Touko looked around still feeling uncomfortable about this whole arrangement. But upon noticing her onee-sama's hand on hers, she slowly relaxed. She exhaled audibly before smiling and saying "Yes, I would love to stay with you, Sachiko-sama and onee-sama."

With that, everyone filed to enter their respective rooms.

Upon entering, Touko was greeted by another problem.

There was only one bed.

The three red roses stood at the door in silence.

* * *

In the other room...

"How many beds are there in Sachiko's room?" Youko asked.

"One" Sei answered with a wicked grin. "Same as ours."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"I _specifically_ requested for a room with only one bed. And there won't be enough space in that room for 2 extra beds."

"But there are three of them. You do know Touko-chan is with them, right? What are you scheming Sei."

"Think about it Youko. Sachiko and Yumi-chan have been apart for so long, despite still being in love with each other. Yoshino-chan told me that they met at Nara-shi and talked, but that rendezvous didn't end well and it led to some sort of misunderstanding. It seemed Sachiko believed that Yumi-chan already has a boyfriend. Also, based on my understanding, your little sister didn't like the fact that Yumi-chan had been in multiple relationships during the time they were apart."

"So?"

"So my _dear_ , imagine all that pent up irritation, longing, jealousy and probably _lust_. Something's bound to happen after some coaxing from us and maybe a little, or _a lot_ , of alcohol."

"But Touko-chan's with them."

"And that will make it all the more fun! Those intense emotions bursting inside your petite seour will most probably explode. Now the biggest question is, considering that Touko-chan is with them, will Sachiko and Yumi-chan be able to suppress their desires or not? The only regret on my part is that I may not be able to witness all that. Hence, we are in the same cabin as them."

Youko shook her head. It seemed her partner had thought this through in that perverted head of hers. "I am letting you do this because I care for my imouto and I know that she needs Yumi-chan in her life. But the moment your plans aggravate the situation between them, I will be stepping in." Youko said threateningly.

"Oh, don't worry. It will all work out." Sei said coolly, before she lidded her eyes and looked at Youko seductively. "For now, let us maximize the short break that we have and do something more fun."

The worry and irritation on Youko's face vanished and all thoughts flew out of her head when her lover claimed her lips and engaged her into a passionate kiss.

 _Works every time in shutting her up_. _Win-win for the both us._ Sei thought, as Youko shuddered when she slipped her hands to touch her mounds.

* * *

Sachiko was the first to snap out of it.

She walked inside, placed her bag inside the cabinet and proceeded to sit on the right side of the bed.

Sachiko's back was to them. But Touko knew, by the awkward silence that filled the room, that she needed to give the two some space.

"I will just change my clothes onee-sama" Touko suddenly announced.

Touko hurriedly took some change of clothes and rushed to leave the room. As soon as the door closed shut. Yumi walked towards Sachiko and said in a hushed voice, "You can drop the act now, Sachiko. We are alone."

* * *

A/N: What are the actual thoughts running in Yumi and Sachiko's head? You'll all find out when I upload the next chapter.

By the way, thanks for your encouraging words through your comments...makes me really want to continue writing. I need more inspiration to get my groove back and write faster! \\(^_^)/ So dear readers, kindly share your thoughts with me.


	4. Sachiko's Proposition

**Sachiko's Proposition**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Maria-sama ga Miteru or any of its characters.

* * *

Touko hurriedly took some change of clothes and rushed to leave the room. As soon as the door closed shut. Yumi walked towards Sachiko and said in a hushed voice, "You can drop the act now, Sachiko. We are alone."

"Who said it was an act?" Sachiko stood up and whispered heatedly. "I really am upset with you. You didn't return any of my calls or messages. You even forgot to call me when you arrived here."

Yumi sighed. "I'm sorry. I had been busy. I had been so engrossed in finishing my assignment that I didn't notice my phone."

"Didn't you even take a break?"

"I didn't have that luxury. And earlier, I was rushing to get to the airport and almost missed the flight. I'm really sorry." Yumi reached out to touch Sachiko's cheeks to calm her down, only for her hands to be immediately swatted away.

"How about when you arrived here? You still didn't check your phone?" Sachiko was really fuming, but thankfully, she was still able control her voice and not shout.

"Please Sachiko. I said I'm sorry already." Yumi pleaded.

"And what about that drama earlier?" Sachiko hissed.

"Well you gave me that cryptic look, and I assumed you wanted me to not say or hint anything _yet_ to them about _us_."

"I wasn't referring to that, but the fact that you wanted to stay behind. I..." Sachiko faltered.

"Sachiko?"

In a weak voice Sachiko said, "Am I the only one who wanted to be alone with you? I haven't seen you for days and you haven't been answering my calls earlier…"

Yumi's eyes softened. "Of course I want to be alone with you. I missed you."

"Then, why did you say that?"

Yumi took Sachiko's hands in hers. "I thought staying with them was the safest option because I needed for you to calm down first. I was actually trying to avoid a confrontation like this. Do you think this is the best way for everyone to know about us, Sachiko? Them seeing us arguing about me not returning any of your calls?" Sachiko squeezed back her hand and stared into her sincere hazel eyes.

Yumi gave her lover a comforting smile. "Please understand" she uttered before letting go of Sachiko's hands and walking towards the door.

Sachiko panicked, "where are you going?" Her irritation vanished and was replaced by worry, upon realizing that Yumi was walking out on her. But instead of turning the knob to open the door and leave, Yumi locked it, before facing her again.

"You're getting back at me for what I did the last time, are you?"** Sachiko said pouting.

Yumi walked back to her beloved and whispered. "It's scary right? When you thought the person you love will walk out on you?"

Yumi then placed a gentle kiss on Sachiko's lips, "I promise I will make it up to you."

Then suddenly, they heard noises from the other side of the wall. They are not innocent enough to know that Sei and Youko are making love. They exchanged glances and giggled.

"I guess we don't have to worry about them hearing us argue." Sachiko whispered laughing.

The noise stopped for a moment, before they heard Sei's muffled voice as she moaned her lover's name. It seems she's _done_. And not a minute later, they heard Youko doing the same.

Yumi didn't know what to do or say, for some reason, she felt embarrassed for Youko and Sei. So she just shook her head and said in a low voice, "the rooms are not sound proof."

"No, I think the walls are just fine. They are just loud." Sachiko whispered back still smiling.

Yumi then noticed her lover's relaxed features, "You're not mad anymore?"

"After hearing all that?" Sachiko giggled, before she brought her hand to Yumi's cheek. "Also, I can't stay mad at you for long."

Yumi leaned into the touch.

"You haven't slept. You have bags under your eyes." Sachiko noted.

"So do you."

"Also, it seems you are not eating properly. You've lost weight."

"Don't worry, I will look just fine in a bikini." Yumi joked.

"Then I will be looking forward to seeing you in one." Sachiko said, planting a soft kiss on lover's lips.

Sachiko kept her eyes closed even as she pulled away and their foreheads touch, just relishing the closeness of her lover. "Just don't do that again. You have no idea how frustrating it was. Stuck in a foreign country for hours and alone with nothing to do. My imagination kept on running wild and it made me think of ridiculous thoughts, especially when you neither answered any of my calls nor sent me any messages. I got worried."

"Why would you be worried?"

Sachiko mumbled, "that you have changed your mind…"

"About?"

"About being with me" Sachiko said exasperatedly. "Geez Yumi, do I have to always spell it out for you?" She blushed in embarrassment.

It has only been a week since they got back together, they didn't even get see each other the whole time. A week is a short period of time in contrast to the number of years that they spent apart. Thus, the feeling of emptiness without Yumi in her life is still fresh in Sachiko's memory. That was why she needed Yumi to contact her every day, to reaffirm that they are really back together again and that it was not just a dream or a delusion.

Yumi smiled before pulling her into an embrace and looking deep into her sapphire eyes. "I am all yours Sachiko. If you are still doubting me, I suggest we tell everyone about _us_ this instant. That way, you have a lot of eyes to vouch for how head over heels in love I am with you." Yumi sincerely said. And Sachiko mirrored her lover's smile, clearly happy to hear those reassuring words.

Yumi leaned forward and claimed her lips, engaging her into a slow passionate kiss. This made Sachiko feel warm all over. Her pulse quickened as blood rushed to her head and made her feel light headed. Yumi then slipped in her tongue and deepened their kiss, which she welcomed and lovingly returned. Sachiko then lifted Yumi's blouse and ran her fingers up the side of her body, feeling the younger woman's curves. Yumi shuddered under her sensuous touch. Sachiko's core was pulsing as desire filled her senses. She was so tempted to push Yumi down on the bed and make love to her that very moment. The only thing stopping her was the fact that their seniors are just in the other room (obviously done with their own deed) or the possibility that Touko-chan may come knocking on the door anytime. So with these thoughts in mind, Sachiko reluctantly broke the kiss and disentangled herself from Yumi. She needed to distance herself from her lover to be able to establish some sort of control over her ever growing desire.

"We should stop."

Yumi looked at her for a moment. Yumi was still heaving, her hair dishevelled and her face flushed. "I guess we should. I don't want them to find out about us either by hearing us making love."

"I'm not loud."

Yumi just quirked up her eyebrows in response.

"But seriously Yumi" Sachiko started with a smile, "I think we should keep quiet about _us_ for a while. Let's see how Yoshino's and Sei-sama's schemes play out."

Yumi looked at her questioningly.

"Really Yumi, you haven't figured it out? They made these arrangements and ensured that we stay in the same room together. Isn't that a clear sign that they are plotting something? Also, they've been exchanging meaningful looks, so if I would have to guess, most of the people here are in on this schemes."

"You mean to get us back together?"

Sachiko gave her a stern look, ' _obviously'_ was left unsaid.

Yumi sighed. It was not like they haven't done this before. During her second year, Yumi, together with the Yamayurikai members at that time, had planned to have an _accidental_ meet up with the Hanadera Student Council. Only Sachiko had not been informed. It was an idea to help Sachiko slowly rid herself of her fear or hatred of men. But in the end, Yumi cracked and eventually divulged everything to her onee-sama. But instead of cancelling the plan, Sachiko requested her to keep quiet and to just let everyone think that the scheme was still on.

Sachiko ended up losing consciousness when they actually met up with the boys, but Yumi didn't want to point this out.

"So I suggest we play along for a while." Sachiko continued.

 _You just don't like to lose to their schemes, do you_? Yumi thought. It was another fact that she decided to keep to herself.

"For how long?" Yumi said instead.

"Probably a day or two, we're only here for a few days anyway. But since we will be together with everyone all the time, someone's bound to figure it out. I mean, probably my onee-sama would hint on it."

"Can I tell Touko?"

"Yes of course. She will be sharing a room with us anyway. At least we can be comfortable if it's just the three of us. Also, she was with us during my parent's anniversary lunch. So I'm sure she has some idea."

"But if we keep it a secret, I won't be able to touch you like this?" Yumi said as she caressed Sachiko's arm.

Sachiko swallowed hard. She knew well what message Yumi was trying to convey, but she will not allow their friends to think that they can outsmart her with their schemes. She has to persevere and remain resilient. Yumi may have also hinted on this, her lover knew her too well. Hence, her beloved resorted to this teasing.

"Are you so against the idea of playing this game with them Yumi?" Sachiko asked, stopping herself from shivering at Yumi's pleasurable actions.

"If it's just for a few days, then I don't see any issues with it. I'm just saying that we can't be intimate, like this..." The younger woman continued to say as she traced the curve of Sachiko's lips, while proceeding to licking her own lips wet.

Sachiko shuddered upon hearing the lustrous voice and upon seeing the desire-filled look Yumi was giving her. She gathered her resolve, "It doesn't matter. It's only for a few days." But by the quiver in her usually cool voice, Yumi knew that Sachiko was lying. "We're sharing a room with Touko-chan anyway, so there won't be any opportunity."

"Are you sure about that?" Yumi said with a seductive voice.

Yumi seemed like a temptress luring her in with her lover's charm. Sachiko just stood motionless as Yumi reached behind her and slipped a hand under her upper garment. Yumi proceeded to gently caress the small of her back, making Sachiko gasp. Yumi's soft skilful hands then travelled down, inside Sachiko's skirt, to play with the hem of her lacy lingerie. Sachiko trembled at the sensation that pervaded her senses. They haven't seen each other in a week and it did nothing but intensify the longing she felt for the younger woman.

Yumi trailed butterfly kisses on her lover's jaw, down to the sensitive part of her neck. Sachiko took in a sharp shaky breath and knew that the control she had just re-established had crumbled already. So choosing to heed to her inner desires, Sachiko placed a hand at the back her lover's head and urged her to continue.

Yumi smiled at Sachiko's reaction before she softly nibbled her lover's ear lobe, then she stopped.

Sachiko held her breath in anticipation.

Then Yumi softly whispered in her beloved's ear, "If you say so."

Sachiko snapped her eyes open, just in time to see the wicked smirk on Yumi's face as she pulled away.

* * *

Touko purposefully took her time changing, to be sure that the Sachiko has already calmed down the moment she got back. She also knocked, to make sure she that she doesn't walk in on any awkward situation.

"Come in" came Yumi's voice from the inside.

She proceeded to gently open the door and gave a small smile to her onee-sama. Sachiko was lying down on the bed and appeared to be sleeping. While her onee-sama was standing in front of the cabinet, organizing her clothes.

"You're done? Let me just get some clothes so I can change as well." Yumi said happily.

Touko was so surprised at the sudden change in the atmosphere. If she remembered correctly, her onee-sama had been anxious when she left. Only to find her back to her usual cheerful self. While Sachiko had been fuming about something, but was now sleeping, though still with a slight irritated look on her face. For Touko, it felt like she had just entered an alternative dimension. But for things to turn a hundred and eighty degrees in just a span of a few minutes, it can only mean one thing…

Yumi gave Touko another smile before heading out to change. Touko followed her outside and cornered her onee-sama just before she open the bathroom door.

"You're not telling me something onee-sama." She said accusingly, almost hurt.

"I don't have to. It seems you've already figured it out." Yumi just said and touched the edge of Touko's nose affectionately. She then pulled Touko inside the bathroom and closed the door shut. "We wouldn't want Sei-sama and Youko-sama to overhear, right?" Yumi whispered mischievously.

Touko blushed, "since when did you..."

"Get back together? A week ago."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"We never had a chance to talk. But for now, can you promise to keep it a secret?"

"Why?"

"I am not the only one keeping secrets. You knew they were scheming to get us back together, didn't you?"

Touko turned redder and in a small voice she said, "I'm sorry onee-sama."

"It's okay." She said, cupping her imouto's face. "We just want to see what you have in store for us. Isn't it more fun if we play along?"

"That's a little cruel, onee-sama." Touko said.

"Now, you don't mean that, do you Touko?" She gently pinched the younger woman's cheek.

"Does Sachiko-sama know that you'll tell me?"

"Of course" Yumi said happily as she patted her petite seour's head and proceeded to usher her outside so she could change. Yumi still saw Touko as a _little_ sister despite the years that have gone by. And that adorable blush on her face just made her look too cute.

Touko exited the bathroom with her face fully flushed. _Really, what is onee-sama doing? Treating me like a little girl._ Touko mused.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice Sei standing outside the door.

"What were you doing in there Touko-chan?" Sei asked with a smirk.

"Nothing Sei-sama." Touko said with a straight face.

"Your acting won't work on me, especially not if you're blushing like a teenager. Who was with you in there?"

Touko didn't reply.

Sei just raised an eyebrow and walked passed the younger woman towards the door to knock. Touko rushed to block her path. "It was my onee-sama." She blurted out.

"Oh-ho! You were doing inappropriate things on the first day of our vacation? So much youthful energy!" Sei exclaimed.

"It's not like that Sei-sama. We just talked."

"In the bathroom?!"

Touko sighed. There's no use explaining anything to her senior who was obviously just teasing her. She then noticed Sei's dishevelled hair, haphazardly buttoned blouse and swollen lips. Touko blushed when she realized what the older woman just did with her lover.

"You're a dirty little girl, Touko-chan" Sei continued to tease.

 _You're probably talking about yourself Sei-sama,_ Touko thought.

But instead, she just sighed and said, "You're zipper's still down Sei-sama and you have hickeys on your neck…which, if I remember correctly weren't there earlier."

Sei's eyes widened at first, seemingly surprised. She immediately zipped back her shorts and instinctively rubbed her neck. Then her face broke into a wide smile, "that's very perceptive of you. You should see Youko."

Sei's reaction surprised Touko. She expected her to be embarrassed, not amused. The younger woman just shook her head, wondering how a mild-mannered person like Noriko's onee-sama was able to get along with a weird and eccentric person like Sei.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter dear readers. Magandang araw!

**Refer to "Still" Chapter 16.


	5. Another Ex

**Another Ex**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Maria-sama ga Miteru or any of its characters.

* * *

Rei and her cabin mates arrived at the dining pavilion earlier than the others. She had asked the waiters to organize the tables for 11 people.

And a few minutes later, the others also arrived. Sei and Youko, who were ahead of the group, settled themselves down beside Eriko. While Noriko pulled Touko over, clearly concerned about her close friend's situation.

"Are you okay Touko?" Noriko immediately asked with a hint of worry visible on her face.

"I'm fine." Touko smiled awkwardly. She had promised that she would not say anything _yet._ She's a good actress, so she could easily pull it off. "Onee-sama is looking out for me. She made sure that I don't feel too uncomfortable" she added.

Last came Yumi, who sat beside Shimako.

"Where is Sachiko-sama?" Shimako asked Yumi.

But it was Sei who replied. "She had to take a call, Shimako. Some urgent business matter."

They decided to exchange stories while waiting for their friend…

"So Yumi-chan, I heard you were quite popular during your time as Rosa Chinensis." Youko asked.

"Oh, you have no idea how popular she was, Youko-sama." It was Yoshino who answered for her. "Isn't that right, Nana?"

Nana nodded to her onee-sama before facing Youko, "Yes that is correct. A lot of my classmates were Yumi-sama's fans."

"Some of my classmates were her admirers as well" Noriko chimed in.

Yumi blushed slightly, but just smiled at her friends' praises. If she were her younger self, she would have been self-conscious and she would have denied all those kind words about her. She would have shaken her head violently and waved her hand animatedly in front of her, making everyone laugh.

"I believe you had a fair share of followers as well, Shimako-san and Yoshino-san." Yumi just said.

"But the ones who helped us out were mostly your admirers, Yumi-san." Shimako said smiling.

"I agree. Look at Kanako-chan and some of those girls who dropped by the Rose Mansion once in a while to help out even if we didn't ask for it." Yoshino added.

"By the sound of it, the students were more comfortable to go to the Rose Mansion during your time. I'm glad." Youko placed a hand on her chest, truly happy at her juniors' news.

"Yumi-chan is charming, it is her selling point." Eriko commented. "While Youko has this aura of being everyone's onee-sama. Contrastingly, Sachiko is the ice princess admired by everyone…" Eriko was interrupted by Sachiko's arrival.

" _Ice Princess?_ I haven't heard that in a long time." Sachiko said, mildly amused.

Sei turned to face the new arrival, "Well, nothing much has changed. Although, I think your employees call you _Ice Queen_ now." Sei chuckled at her own joke.

Sachiko just shook her head dismissively before walking to sit on the only remaining chair, which was _obviously_ beside Yumi's. Sachiko hesitated for a moment, just for show, before proceeding to sit down.

Yumi kept her face blank. She noticed earlier that there were only two remaining chairs when she arrived and they were adjacent. Sachiko had been right.

"Actually, they just call me Ms. Ogasawara or Ms. Sachiko" she replied nonchalantly.

"Of course they won't call you _Ice Queen_ when you're around. It would have been a ticket to their own demise." Sei said before continuing with the prelude to her _main event_ and addressed Sachiko. "Anyway, did you know that Yumi-chan was popular with her juniors?"

"I did meet Kanako-chan. I even had the pleasure of having tea with her while the second years were on a field trip."

"I didn't know about that" Yumi instinctively answered. Before she realized that she _should_ be acting indifferent towards Sachiko. She blushed and immediately turned her head away.

Sei smirked and shared a meaningful look with Yoshino.

"What did you talk about?" Sei continued.

Sachiko remained unperturbed, "Nothing important. Just that she had no desire to be Yumi's petite seour." She saw no harm in sharing this information with the group.

"I see. Are you also aware that Yumi-chan was popular with the _boys_ from Hanadera?" This time, there was a hint of mischief in Sei's eyes. "One of those boys actually became her first _boyfriend_ after she graduated from college."

Sachiko's eyes widened and she couldn't stop herself from meeting the senior's eyes. "What are you talking about?" Sachiko had wanted to act apathetic. But the topic of Yumi's past boyfriends always seem to easily rile her up.

"Why don't you tell them Shimako?"

Upon being put in the spotlight, Shimako slightly fidgeted in her seat. She had told her onee-sama this piece of detail some time ago, but she didn't realize that it would be used for this _scheme_ of hers. "Well, there was this man who regularly visit our shrine. This one time, he approached to ask me if I went to Lillian. He told me that he recognized me from one of the Hanadera School Festivals. When I said 'yes', he asked if I was acquainted with Yumi-san." She spared a glance at her friend. "I said 'yes'."

"What was his name?" Yumi asked.

"Wow, it seems Yumi-chan had boyfriends from Hanadera other than this man" Eriko said, her interest was once again stimulated. "I wish I had met you when you were like _that_ Yumi-chan, dating men left and right."

Yumi sighed, "No Eriko-sama. It was not as bad as it sounds. I wasn't intentionally 'playing with men's hearts', as my dear best friend would like to call it."

Eriko just laughed.

"I think his last name was Sawada. I'm sorry, I forgot his first name, Yumi-san." Shimako continued.

"Hikaru. His name was Sawada Hikaru."

How could Yumi forget? He was the first man she had _tried_ to love after her break up with Sachiko. He was an Architecture student like her and had been her classmate in various subjects. But they only became friends when they had the chance to work on a project in their third year of college. It was a few weeks after Sachiko's wedding, a time when she had wallowed in depression. Apart from Touko and Yoshino, it was Hika-kun and the rest of their friends who tried to cheer her up. It resulted in countless nights partying at bars, but of course, only if they didn't have exams to study for or projects to complete.

Then on the day of their graduation, he confessed that he had fallen in love with her and asked if she could be his girlfriend. Yumi didn't want to lose a good friend like him, but since her heart hadn't mended yet, she rejected him.

" _I'm sorry Hika-kun." She started._

" _I know you still love that person." Hika-kun looked at her with sad eyes, "That's why you can't be with me, right? But a year has already passed, Yumi-chan. I don't know what happened or why you had to end your relationship with that person, but isn't it time to move on? We are young and you will surely find someone, somewhere, that will put the missing pieces of your heart back together. Your wounds will never close unless you take the pill and allow yourself to finally heal."_

 _She refused to look at him, but a part of her knew that somehow, he was right. She will never be truly happy because of the gaping hole in her heart left by Sachiko._

" _Let me help you. Let me into your heart and I promise I will do anything within my power to make you happy so you can finally forget that person."_

 _And when she remained motionless, Hika-kun took hold of her hands and pleaded, "At least for a month. If it doesn't work out, then I would gladly let you go."_

Yumi finally agreed. Hika-kun was a good man, but he would never replace Sachiko. But because of him, Yumi opened her heart to the possibility that she will eventually find the right person. Only to later on find out, that only Sachiko will ever complete her.

"He asked for your number, Yumi-san."

Shimako's voice shook her out of her recollection. "I think I remember now. You did call me that one time to ask if you can give my number to someone. I vividly recalled that I declined."

Shimako nodded.

"I take it your relationship didn't end well?" Sei asked.

"I'm sorry Sei-sama, but I am not comfortable talking about him right now."

"Why Yumi-chan? Do you still have feelings for him?"

Yumi didn't like what Sei was doing. Not because she still feels anything for Hika-kun, but because she can literally feel the steam blowing off of the person beside her. Sachiko was fuming…again.

Sei knew that her usual antics of flirting with Yumi would not be enough to make Sachiko jealous. The young heiress had obviously overcame that. But she knew that Yumi's past boyfriends was a different matter altogether. And she had been right.

Sachiko balled her fist. She casted her eyes down and refused to look at any of the people seated on the table with her, because she knew her eyes had turned to slits due to anger. Obviously, Sei was just pushing her buttons again. Her objective was to infuriate her to the point where Yumi had to step in to calm her down. Probably, Sei wanted Yumi to clear their misunderstanding in front of everyone.

Sachiko knew all this, but try as she might, she couldn't stop the jealousy from bubbling inside of her. Thankfully, Yumi reached from under the table and squeezed her hand. Sachiko spared a sideward glance to her lover and noticed that she had a calm expression as she looked at the scenic view of the sea in front of them. Upon seeing her beloved's composed appearance, Sachiko's anger slowly abated. She will discuss this Sawada Hikaru with Yumi later. For now, she will not allow Sei to win.

Everyone was waiting for Yumi's answer. But Sachiko knew that their friends' eyes were onto her as well, expecting some sort of outburst. She knew the younger ones, Nana and Noriko were nervous. Eriko was obviously enjoying herself while her onee-sama was closely observing her expression. Her close friend, Rei, appeared uneasy, same as Yoshino. Shimako had that serene look on her face, just like always. But the younger woman's eyebrows were slightly crinkled, evidently uncomfortable for being the one to share the story about that Sawada Hikaru. Sei was the only one who had a big smile on her face as if she had won.

Upon feeling that Sachiko had relaxed, Yumi finally spoke "Hika-kun is a part of my past and it will stay that way. So unless you have any other questions about my apparent heart-breaking streak, I would suggest that we head to that buffet table because I'm starving." Yumi ended her statement with a charming smile, as if daring Sei to continue with her questioning.

Sachiko smirked for a fraction of a second, before her face returned to her usual stoic mask.

Contrastingly, Sei's face fell. She looked from Sachiko to Yumi, then back to Sachiko again.

Youko smiled, "Enough of that Sei. Yumi-chan is right. We should get something to eat."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they one by one stood up. They were glad to have a reason to get out of yet another awkward situation created by Sei.

"My imouto and her petite seour has matured" Youko whispered to her partner upon seeing that confused look on Sei's face.

"Yes, they became boring." Sei answered with a sigh.

"Are you really doing this for Sachiko and Yumi? Or because it's just fun to tease them?"

"You wound me Youko. Of course I am doing this for them." Before smirking to say, "And because it's fun."

Youko shook her head, wondering how the Yamayurikai went smoothly during their time, with people like Sei and Eriko by her side.

* * *

It was already late in the afternoon when they decided to head for the beach.

Eriko bailed out, saying that she wanted (or needed) to spend some time with her husband. Youko and Sachiko were lounging in adjacent beach chairs, enjoying their fresh fruit shakes with a beach umbrella shielding them from the sun. While everyone else was enjoying the beach.

"Why do you hate Yumi-chan so much?" Youko asked.

Sachiko coughed the juice she just drank.

"I'm sorry Sachiko. It seems I startled you with that question."

After her fit, Sachiko took a sip of water which Youko had requested from the waiter for her.

"I don't really hate her." Sachiko replied when she was finally able to speak.

"Then why aren't you speaking with each other? Don't tell me it is still because of your break-up years ago."

"Can we not talk about Yumi at the moment onee-sama?" Sachiko said with a controlled voice. She didn't want to lie to her grande seour and she was not sure if she wanted to admit that she and Yumi are already back together. Not yet…just one more day.

Youko regarded Sachiko for a moment, trying to read what was on her little sister's mind. Clearly, Sachiko could never hate Yumi. But she also knew that it was impossible for them to just be friends. Sachiko would choose to stay away from Yumi, rather than be close to her former lover and see her in a relationship with someone else. That would just be too painful for her imouto. And judging from Sei's stories, it seemed that Yumi had actually been in countless relationships before.

So if not friends, is it possible that they are already back together? Youko thought it is highly unlikely, because Sachiko's still married. Her imouto would never make Yumi her _mistress._ Youko knew just how much Sachiko hated to enter into relationships outside of marriage, seeing as it was the primary reason for her hatred of men. She could still remember the loneliness etched in her little sister's blue eyes whenever they talked about her father and grandfather's absence due to being with their respective mistresses. Unless…Sachiko already divorced Suguru or is in the process of divorcing her cousin. If that were the case, then it is highly possible that Yumi and Sachiko are already a couple. But why would she keep this a secret? Surely, her divorce will appear in the headlines of most broadsheets and everyone will know about it instantly. However, it is also possible, with their family's influence, for the news to be covered up.

"Onee-sama?" Sachiko asked cautiously.

Youko just gave her a smile. "Sure, if it makes you uncomfortable. I just want to let you know that I am here for you and that you can tell me _anything_."

If her little sister is keeping the actual status of their relationship a secret, then it must be for a good reason. For now, Youko will just observe the two.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yumi was lying down on the sand. It was a cloudy afternoon so the sun, thankfully, wasn't burning her skin.

"Would you like me to help you in applying some sunscreen on your back?" A man approached her.

Yumi ignored the stranger and with the help of her dark sunglasses, pretended to be asleep.

"Thank you for the offer, but she has us for that." Touko approached and responded for her. And Yumi didn't miss the irritated tone her little sister used.

The man looked from one gorgeous woman to another before raising his hands in surrender. "Sure, it was just an offer." He said, then left.

"You don't have to rescue me, Touko. I can actually fend them off myself" Yumi said still with her eyes closed.

"It just annoys me how forward these men are."

"You sound like an old person Touko. This is how men and women are like, in this day and age."

"Not in Japan."

"You mean Yuuki?"

Touko blushed. "Yes, actually. Just like Yuuki. You should probably cover up so men don't approach you."

Yumi stood up and lifted her glasses to her hair. "We are at the beach. I think my clothes are appropriate."

Yoshino approached the seours and joined in on their conversation. "I agree with Touko-chan, Yumi-san. I am actually wondering how your body matured to be so…"

"Sexy?" Sei intoned.

Yoshino felt self-conscious all of a sudden. Yumi was wearing a plain red two-piece strapless swim wear, while Sei's bikini was white. Both looked extraordinarily stunning, with their flat abdomen, full bosom and long legs.

Touko was also a little skinny like Yoshino, but at least she looked cute in her red and white two-piece swim suit. While in her case, she remained a little flat around the chest area. That was why she always opt for a frilly bikini top.

"Don't worry too much Yoshino-chan. Rei likes you just the way you are." Sei winked.

Yoshino coughed, swallowing down her bitterness. "Anyway Yumi-san, I just wanted to ask why you're avoiding Sachiko-sama. I thought you wanted to speak with her?"

Yumi sighed. She had expected the question to come up sooner or later and she had been ready. "I am not avoiding Sachiko."

"But you haven't spoken with her yet, right? I thought you were supposed to clear your misunderstanding?" Yoshino continued as she sat down on the beach towel, beside her best friend. Sei did the same. While Touko chose to leave, knowing the route their conversation was going to take.

"I did tell you about it... that I have _tried_. I went to the Ogasawara Company at least three times. The first time, I wasn't allowed to go in because I was not an employee. I didn't have the guts to lie and say that I had a scheduled meeting with Sachiko, so I just left. The second time, Sachiko was overseas. And the third time…well, let's just say that I chickened out and lost the courage to enter the building."

"But you have Sachiko here…now. Why don't you just clear any misunderstanding you have with her?" Sei intoned.

"And what, get back together with her? She's married, remember?" Yumi answered back. She wasn't exactly lying.

Yoshino and Sei exchanged meaningful looks.

 _I hadn't considered that_ , Sei thought.

"She can divorce that Kashiwagi Suguru" Sei just said with spite.

" _Ogasawara_ Suguru." Yumi corrected. "I would never ask that from Sachiko."

"Well you should." Sei said. "You love her and she loves you. If that damned marriage is the only hindrance, then that _Kashiwagi_ Suguru should just go to hell." Sei still hated the man despite not seeing him for years. There was something about him that rubs Sei the wrong way.

"I agree, Yumi-san. You should take the bold step and get back with Sachiko-sama. We can help you." Yoshino said.

Yumi looked from Sei to Yoshino. She didn't expect that they'd be this persistent. "I'll think about it." She just responded before standing up to excuse herself, saying that she wanted to take a swim before the sun sets. Yumi knew that Sei and Yoshino would not stop until they got the answers that they wanted, that was why she needed to leave.

As soon as Yumi was out of earshot…

"She got away" Yoshino sighed.

"I think Yumi-chan is not the problem, but Sachiko. We will make Sachiko realize just how much of a risk it is to not divorce that man and take Yumi-chan for herself. That way, Yumi-chan won't even need to make a request for Sachiko to leave her husband."

"I thought we just wanted to give them an opportunity to talk? Like putting them into a situation wherein there is no choice but for them to discuss their issues?"

"Change of plans. We need to speed things up. We're only here for three days and two nights."

"What are you planning, Sei-sama?"

"You'll soon find out. Just a little bit of tip, don't get yourself too drunk in tonight's party." Sei smiled deviously.

* * *

A/N: _Salamat_ for reading and see you in the next chapter. Let me know your thoughts.


	6. No Inhibitions

**No Inhibitions**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Maria-sama ga Miteru or any of its characters.

A/N: Thank you for the review/comments and follows/favorites. I also want to share that I originally intended for this story to be a lot shorter compared to _Still,_ but let's see ^^. And finally, a shout out to slytherinheiress.21, _yup, ako po ay proudly pinoy!_

On with the story...enjoy!

* * *

Sachiko hated it.

She is obviously not the type of person who goes to hang out in bars to drink, to dance or to meet people. But apparently, Yumi was, or at least, she used to be. And that was why she was finding it hard to control her irritation as Sei and Yumi conversed excitedly about the beach party that night. Touko, who was supposed to be her ally, was with the other group. While her onee-sama was just sitting casually on the bed, listening quietly, but with an amused look on her face. Sachiko was surprised to find out that Youko, who was the epitome of properness in high school, occasionally went to _party_ with her partner, Sei.

After taking a bath, Yumi had changed out of her bikini to dress for that night's event. Which happens to be just another bikini, covered by a thin white loose-fitting cotton dress. The fabric of the dress was so fine that she could see Yumi's tangerine strapless two-piece underneath. It was so short that it didn't even reach Yumi's mid-thigh and the neckline was so low that she could see Yumi's cleavage and toned upper abdomen. It hardly counted as an article of clothing, in Sachiko's opinion.

But in all honesty, if Sachiko were to momentarily forget her ideals and just be true to herself, she actually liked how Yumi looked in that dress. And with Yumi's hair in a messy bun, she looked so gorgeous that Sachiko couldn't stop herself from ogling at her lover.

"Yumi's so hot, eh Sachiko?" Sei wiggled her eyebrows teasingly.

Sachiko cursed inwardly, knowing that she stared at Yumi for too long.

"That hardly counts as a dress" Sachiko spat.

"Yumi is actually being conservative. Some of the people who will attend the party will only be wearing two-piece swimsuits." Sei said.

"What kind of people do you acquaint yourself with, Sei-sama?" Yumi asked.

"Oh, you will get to meet some of them, Yumi-chan."

Sachiko didn't like the sound of that.

"Anyway, stop being an old lady and change into something more _appropriate_ for the event, Sachiko. We'll wait for you outside. Come on Yumi-chan."

Yumi hesitated for a moment before saying, "I just need to put on some make-up."

"Wow, I really like this version of Yumi-chan. Sure, make yourself more pretty. But if you ask me, you look stunning enough." Sei winked at her before heading out the door.

When she was sure that her partner was out of earshot, Youko turned to face her imouto, "Why don't you just _request_ Yumi-chan to put on some decent clothes Sachiko?" She let the question hang in the air for a moment, before exiting the room with a knowing smile.

Yumi didn't hear that last comment as she stepped in front of the mirror to put on some mascara and eye liner. While Sachiko stood motionless as she watched her onee-sama's retreating back. It seems Youko is as perceptive as ever.

As soon as the door closed shut, "Don't force yourself Sachiko. You can sit this one out." Yumi turned to face Sachiko and said, not forgetting to keep her voice down. She also chose not to approach Sachiko, just in case one of their seniors comes back.

"And if I do, what will you do?"

"That goes without saying, I'll think of an excuse and not attend the party too."

Sachiko bit her lip. The excitement in Yumi's eyes earlier had been real. Yumi was thrilled about this beach party and for her to bail out on this one on Sachiko's account just felt too cruel. "I can't ask you not to go. Not with you all dolled up and prepared for the party."

"I would rather they find out about _us_ , than force you into a situation wherein you'll be uncomfortable. There will be lots of people. It will be loud and crazy."

"Are you saying I can't do this? Attend this party? I'll have you know that I have attended countless parties before, which also included drinking alcohol and dancing. How different will this be?"

Yumi just sighed, unsure of how to explain the difference of this event from her usual formal dinner parties.

"Okay, just don't overdo it." Yumi finally said.

"I will not lose consciousness or get crazy drunk, if that's what you're worried about."

"I didn't say anything."

"You don't have to. I know you too well to know that you are worrying too much."

And Yumi had every right to worry, because it seems like she unknowingly _forced_ Sachiko to attend this party.

Before another word was exchanged, there was a knock on their bedroom door.

"Come in" Sachiko said, just as Yumi turned back to face the mirror and proceeded to apply some make-up on her face.

The door opened to reveal Youko. She glanced at the two occupants of the room first, as if gauging the atmosphere, before proceeding to enter. If she noticed something, Youko didn't show it.

"Do you have anything to wear?" Youko asked her imouto.

"Sorry, I don't" Sachiko didn't need to look at her luggage to know that all her clothes are _not appropriate_ for tonight's event, which in her dictionary meant something _less decent_ than what she would normally wear.

"I thought you wouldn't, so I brought some of mine. You can borrow it if you want." Youko handed her ripped denim shorts and a white lace cropped top.

"You wear this, onee-sama?"

Youko laughed, "You know, being a lawyer doesn't necessarily mean that my wardrobe is limited to dresses and business suits."

Sachiko eyebrow twitched. Guilty.

"And being with a person like Sei really changes one's personal style."

Sachiko was surprised at how open Youko was about her relationship. But why is she like this, all of a sudden?

Youko noticed the mild surprise in Sachiko's eyes. Just as she had calculated. "I'm sorry I haven't told you about it first…"

"Umm, excuse me Youko-sama, I'm done. I'll just wait outside." Yumi said, as if she wanted to give them some privacy.

"It's okay Yumi-chan. I want you to hear this as well." Youko then looked at the two women and took a deep breath before saying, "Sei and I are together."

Yumi and Sachiko exchanged glances, as if they could read what the other is thinking.

"C-congratulations" Yumi stuttered.

"Congratulations onee-sama."

"Aren't you even going to ask _when_ our relationship was formalized?" Youko inquired with a smile on her face. Sachiko, but most especially Yumi's, reactions were very interesting.

Yumi could feel beads of sweat forming on her temples, thinking that Youko's manner of attack was totally different from Sei's. Yumi was finding it hard to think of anything to say, and it wasn't helping that Sachiko was as speechless as her. Until…

"Hey! We're waiting!" Sei's head popped out of the open door.

"A-ah yes! I'm done!" Yumi exclaimed.

"Well then, let's go. I have a few friends over and I want you to meet them." Sei said.

"You go on ahead, I will just change." Sachiko said with a blank look on her face, before stepping out of the room and heading for the bathroom.

Sei looked at her partner's face, "What were you talking about?"

"Nothing important."

After one last suspicious glance to Youko, Sei headed back out.

Yumi was about to follow Sei, when Youko called her, "Yumi-chan".

"Youko-sama?"

"It seems you're already comfortable being around Sachiko. By any chance, were you able to fix your misunderstanding already?"

Yumi knew she had a conflicted expression on her face. She may have matured and improved at hiding her emotions on her very expressive face, but she will never be as good as Sachiko. It is most especially difficult when she's in front of her friends or when she's feeling extreme emotions.

But what to say in this situation? Yumi could not lie to Youko. Aside from the fact that it would not sit well with her if she lied to her senior, she has a feeling that deceiving the woman in front of her will be futile.

After not hearing a response, "You should go and meet Sei's friends. I'll wait for Sachiko." Youko just said.

Yumi gave her an awkward smile, before making her way towards the deck.

* * *

A few minutes later…

"Onee-sama, isn't this too revealing?" Sachiko immediately complained.

"Well Sachiko, I think you look good in it. It will be dark anyway, so no one will have a chance to ogle at you."

"Everyone can see my abdomen and my chest if I move. I think I won't be able to dance." Sachiko grumbled.

"Really, you'll dance?" Youko smirked, thinking how interesting it will be to see a prim and proper person like Sachiko dance sensuously. "How different will it be than you wearing just your two-piece swimsuit earlier at the beach?"

"That's different?"

"How different? We're still at the beach."

Sachiko pouted. An expression only a few people ever see. And it made Youko smile.

Youko approached to touch Sachiko's cheeks "Now Sachiko, I am sure Yumi-chan will love the way you look." She then withdrew her hand and turned around to leave, not giving Sachiko a chance to respond. And Youko was sure, Sachiko will not be saying anything anyway.

* * *

Meanwhile, out on the deck, Yumi was introduced to Sei's friend and her companions. They were already drinking and chatting when Yumi joined them.

"Sei-sama, I thought we're heading for the party?" Yumi whispered.

"My friend _unexpectedly_ showed up with some drinks. Let's just stay for a while. I already sent a message to Rei and Eriko. Anyway, we have a few minutes before the party is at full swing." Sei said with a smirk.

A glass was then shoved to her hand by one of their guests. "Mari. My name is Mari, in case you forgot." The person joked. "That is my special mix. We brought it from our room. I hope you like it."

After hearing those words, Yumi didn't have the heart to decline. So she just returned the woman's smile and took a sip. The drink tasted good, but she instantly felt how strong the alcohol was.

"How was it?" Mari asked.

"What did you put in it?"

"Was it too strong?"

 _Yes it was_ , Yumi thought.

"No, it's just fine." Yumi said with a grimace. She was no stranger to alcohol and a glass of this mysterious mix will not be enough to knock her out.

* * *

Shimako uncomfortably looked around. With the blaring sounds that filled the crowded beach, it was hard to believe that it was almost midnight. She hadn't been to parties like this before, so everything she laid her eyes on was unsettling to her. Like the fact that most of the people around her are barely dressed, including some of her friends, or the countless men and women whom she noticed were engaged in sensuous dances. But what really shocked her were those who were shamelessly making out despite being out in public.

Noriko took hold of her left hand and squeezed it comfortingly, and she gave a small reassuring smile to her imouto in response. But she was unable to stop the slight quiver in her lips, a clear hint of her unease. Fortunately, their table was situated in a dimly lit area, so Noriko could not have noticed her evident anxiety.

Sei shoved a glass in her right hand, "Have a drink, Shimako. It will calm your nerves and help you loosen up a bit." Sei shouted, so her voice could be heard through all the noise.

Shimako gingerly held the glass in her hand. She took a deep breath before downing her drink. She grimaced at the sharp taste of the alcohol on her tongue. It burned her throat and a warm feeling passed through her chest as she swallowed her drink. She had tried drinking before, but not something as strong as what her onee-sama just gave her. She put a hand on the standing table to steady herself, before she noticed another glass placed in front of her. Shimako stood motionless as she looked unbelievingly at her onee-sama.

Contrastingly, Yumi's body was involuntarily moving in tune to the beat of the music. She hadn't been out partying in a while because work had kept her busy these past few months.

The first time she went to a bar with her friends, she had been uncomfortable. She didn't know what to do and she had been afraid to make a fool of herself. It was Hika-kun who helped her out by giving her a glass of strong alcohol. And true enough, after a few glasses, she found herself dancing carelessly on the dance floor. That time, partying had been her escape from reality, a moment of freedom from the loneliness of being separated from Sachiko. Her occasional trips to clubs continued even after she graduated from college and she started working.

"You're itching to dance, Yumi-san" Yoshino shouted in her ear.

"I haven't danced in a while" Yumi shouted back.

"Niether have I. Let's go!" Yoshino invited.

"Later!"

Yumi spared a glance to her lover. And despite the poor lighting, she could still sense Sachiko's irritation and unease. She just can't leave her.

Sei offered everyone a glass of liquor, "Drink up!"

Sei then raised her glass for a toast and everyone did the same. Yumi downed hers in one go. This made Sei whistle, before her face broke into a huge grin. "Another round here please!" She shouted to the bartender.

A few more shots later, Yumi found herself in the middle of the crowd, dancing her heart away. She was surrounded by her friends, most of which appeared to be drunk, judging from their clumsy and careless movements. Only Sachiko and Youko remained at their standing table, looking very much clear-headed.

Sei deliberately got them drunk so they could party without any inhibitions, that much was certain. In Yumi's case, she has a higher alcohol tolerance than most of her friends. But because of the _two or three_ glasses of mysterious cocktail from Sei's friend earlier, she was now feeling light headed and tipsy. She had wanted to stop dancing and get back to Sachiko's side, but the alcohol in her system, her body's desire to keep on dancing and the atmosphere was making it difficult for her to make rational choices.

At least Sachiko remained sober and thankfully, Youko also chose not to drink and was accompanying Sachiko. She remembered Sei pulling Sachiko's hand to join the crowd earlier, but she adamantly refused. Of course Yumi wanted to stay with her lover, until she remembered that she was supposed to be acting indifferent due to their _apparent_ misunderstanding. But their friends didn't give her a chance to think, as a very drunk Yoshino and Shimako forced her to come with them, while their petite seours, Nana and Noriko, also helped by pushing her from behind. Sachiko also gave her a reassuring smile, an implied permission for her to enjoy herself. So with Sachiko's approval, with her friends' coaxing and with the influence of alcohol, Yumi acquiesced and joined the energetic crowd in partying.

Together with Yumi in the crowd was Shimako. But unlike her, Shimako's head was spinning.

Shimako knew she was drunk and she had lost all her inhibitions. Her onee-sama had been right, she was finding it a lot easier to move around and not care whether or not she was making a fool of herself. She was used to formal forms of dances that required precise and carefully measured steps. But she found this type of _freestyle_ dancing was much more enjoyable. All she had to do was sway, move her hips and rub herself against her dance partner, just like what everyone around her was doing.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Yoshino and Rei engaged in a very erotic looking dance. The younger of the two then pulled her partner's head down for a kiss. Shimako just smiled at her friends' actions, before she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, allowing the world to spin and spin. The alcohol in her system and the make-out session she just witnessed was making her feel so warm all over that she suddenly felt the urge to either touch or be touched by someone. She was fortunate that most of the people that surrounded her were her friends, that way she didn't need to worry about mistakenly dancing with a stranger. With this in mind, she carelessly pulled one woman towards her and engaged her in a sensuous dance.

Contrary to the lively atmosphere, Sachiko has a deep set frown on her beautiful face. She knew that she allowed Yumi to party, but somehow, she was finding it difficult to control her irritation. The moon was full and it provided good illumination. There were also some beam lights from the different bars that lined the beach. But it still wasn't enough for her to see Yumi all the time amidst the dancing crowd.

Sachiko was very much sober. She didn't accept the cocktail offered by Sei's friend back in their cabin, but she did take the glass offered by Sei earlier that night. She didn't want her senior to notice that she wasn't drinking. So from time to time, Sachiko would spill its contents to the sand when she knew no one was looking.

"Sachiko, you're not going to dance?" Youko shouted.

"No" Sachiko replied.

Youko moved closer so she could hear her clearly, "Yumi-chan seem to be a very good dancer and is attracting a crowd down there. Are you sure you want to sit this one out?"

Sachiko's eyes travelled to the crowd and instantly spotted her woman. Of course she easily recognized Yumi, but with poor lighting, Sachiko was unsure if the people that surrounded her lover were their friends.

Then Sachiko saw one person put her arms on Yumi's hips and started grinding her midsection on Yumi's behind. Yumi appeared unperturbed and continued to move her body to match with the stranger's. The blaring music was suddenly muted in Sachiko's ears as her eyes witnessed the sensual dance. And from that distance, Sachiko noticed the stranger brought her head down on Yumi's neck while her lover proceeded to angle her head as if giving that person the permission to continue with her ministrations.

 _What is Yumi thinking? Allowing whoever that person is to touch and kiss her like that?_ Sachiko wanted to scream.

"You're joining in?" Sei had just returned and immediately smiled when she saw Sachiko step out from their spot.

"Yes" was Sachiko's curt and very irritated reply as she squeezed in through the crowd and made her way towards Yumi and that person who was flirting with her lover.


	7. Control and Desires

**Controls and Desires**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Maria-sama ga Miteru or any of its characters.

Warning: Some adult content ahead. ^^

* * *

It was a bait. Sachiko was sure of it.

Earlier, she kept on convincing herself that everything had been carefully planned by Sei and that there was nothing she should be worried about. From those friends who _unexpectedly_ showed up and just happened to have a strong cocktail mix with them, to the countless rounds of drinks her senior handed out to everyone, and to this woman who was flirting with Yumi. Everything had been a lure for Sachiko to lose control. At least that's what Sachiko thought. That was why she purposefully avoided drinking, so she could stay clearheaded and hopefully survive the night without any incidents.

But despite all this, she still found herself rushing to Yumi's side, wanting to pull that woman away from her lover, even at the expense of everyone finding out about her relationship with Yumi. Forget about the game and her pride. Forget about losing to Sei. Sachiko's possessiveness had kicked in, breaking every damned sense of control she had left.

So Sachiko ignored the people that tried to pull her arm or attempted to grope her as she made way towards Yumi. She also ignored the fact that she was starting to feel nauseous amidst all those sweaty semi-naked bodies. She focused on her goal, and that was to pull Yumi out of this crowd.

She soon reached her lover and all blood rushed to her head as she saw Yumi embracing a very familiar looking person.

"Yumi?"

"Sachiko!"

* * *

Earlier…

Yumi knew she drank too much. She knew it wasn't just the few bottles of beer, nor the glasses of gin tonic and rum coke, and not even the shots of vodka and tequila that made her feel this nauseous. It was possible that it was that mysterious cocktail mix given to her by Sei's friends earlier. But really, it was the mixture of all those liquors in her body that reduced her into a state of inebriation.

Despite Yumi's drunkenness, a part of her remained to be aware of what she was doing and what was happening around her. Yumi had too much experience in drinking, during her years at the university, that she knew how to handle herself in these situations.

There was a time earlier wherein she momentarily left her friends to find a deserted place to throw up. She knew she needed to empty the contents of her stomach to lessen the alcohol in her system, and it somehow cleared her head. After that, she went to the bar and requested for a glass of water to wash away the bitter taste in her mouth. The bartender, who was obviously flirting with her, handed her breath mints. The moment she popped it in her mouth, the man leaned forward in an attempt to kiss her, but she pretended not to see and hurriedly left. But instead of going back to their friends, Yumi decided to take the opportunity to escape the party and hopefully go back to their cabin to be alone with Sachiko. Yumi had wanted to be with her lover the moment she saw Sachiko in that very sexy outfit earlier, and the alcohol did nothing but intensify that desire.

But as she was making her way back to the table where Sachiko was, she bumped into Sei.

"Where do you think you're going Yumi-chan? The party's not over yet." Sei said with a mischievous smile before dragging her back to the dancing crowd.

So Yumi continued to dance and just silently wished that Sachiko was with her.

"Wouldn't it be nice if Sachiko will join us? Could you imagine Sachiko dancing sensuously with you, like this?" Sei danced behind her and whispered in her ear.

Yumi ignored her senior's words and actions. She pretended not to hear anything and just continued to close her eyes and dance. However, Sei's words continued to echo in her head as thoughts of Sachiko touching her and kissing her filled her mind. Yumi thought of the possibility of Sachiko disregarding all her inhibitions and discretely pleasuring her amidst this crowd. If only Sachiko was not so uptight. Maybe a little alcohol would help.

Yumi shook her head. What was she thinking? She should not let Sachiko get drunk, even if the thought of making love with a drunk and unrestrained Sachiko was intensifying her lust.

Sei brought her face closer once more to say in her ear, "I have a friend who can help you satisfy your needs. Either that or she can just dance with you to make Sachiko jealous."

Yumi's eyes snapped open. How could Sei know what she was thinking?

"No thanks." Yumi replied before walking a few paces away from Sei to dance with Touko instead.

Yumi looked around. The space they occupied was slightly less crowded. And they somehow moved a little farther from the speakers, so the music wasn't pounding in her ears so much.

Eriko appeared to remain sober, and was currently dancing with her husband. Beside the married couple were Yoshino and Rei. They were making out, oblivious of the people around them. It made Yumi envious and wished that like their friends, she could be intimate with Sachiko that very moment. Next to them were Noriko and Nana, who were moving clumsily, a clear sign of their drunkenness. But when two random strangers approached them, they easily fended them off. So probably, they still had some sanity left in them. Meanwhile, Touko continued to dance demurely in front of her. Her little sister was drunk, but she was still trying to keep her act together. Her current state was not noticeable except for the permanent blush on her cheeks and the dazed look in her eyes.

The next song that played was Yumi's favorite. And the crowd seem to share her sentiment as a cheer erupted from all around her. Yumi cheered with them and joined the crowd in clapping their hands above their heads, in tune to the beat of the music. The beat soon changed as the song progressed and Yumi closed her eyes and tilted her head up, allowing the music to fill her senses. Then suddenly, she felt someone started to dance behind her. Yumi momentarily froze as she felt that person's warm breath tickled her neck. She was about to turn around and confront whoever was flirting with her when she heard the familiar voice of her best friend, "did you think I was Sachiko-sama?"

Yumi relaxed before proceeding to say that Sachiko would never do that ( _especially not in public_ , Yumi thought).

"Of course she wouldn't. Because she's so uptight and you're so chicken to fix your misunderstanding and ask her to be yours again."

Yoshino was clearly under the influence of alcohol, so Yumi didn't bother to take her best friend seriously and just kept her mouth shut. All of Yoshino's inhibitions had been removed and she will say what she wants to say. Yoshino was outspoken enough in her sober state, more so when she's inebriated.

When Yoshino soon stopped scolding her, Rei pulled her partner back and started dancing with her again.

A few minutes later, Yumi once again felt someone's hands snaked around her hips. But this time, she was not startled. It could just be Sei or Yoshino again, teasing her. It seems her inebriated friends were taking turns in messing with her. So she just smiled and swayed her hips to match her partner's. And even when that person leaned forward and breathed down her neck, as if to whisper something to her ear, she remained unperturbed. Until she felt that person lick, then suck the sensitive part of her neck. Yumi froze. Sei, and definitely Yoshino, would never do that.

She immediately turned around to push the stranger away. Yumi was shocked to find out that it was another one of her friends.

"Shimako-san?!"

Yumi was momentarily confused at her friend's actions because Shimako was not the type of person who would tease her. But by the disoriented look in her eyes and her flushed cheeks, Yumi knew she was clearly intoxicated and _probably_ didn't know what she was doing.

Yumi's initial shock was soon replaced by worry. She wanted to pull Shimako out of the crowd to avoid any possible incidents of her unknowingly dancing with someone outside of their group. Yumi thought that Shimako was lucky that it was just her, and not some random stranger who would surely take advantage of her friend's state. But as she reached out to escort her friend out of the crowd and into their cabin, Shimako's eyes drooped and Yumi knew that she only had split seconds to react. Her friend lost consciousness and fell face forward into Yumi's open arms, her dead weight made Yumi's knees buckle. But since she was able to brace herself for the impact, Yumi didn't topple over. She pulled Shimako closer in fear that her friend would slip out of her grasp and fall onto the ground.

"Yumi?"

"Sachiko!"

"What do you think you're doing?"

Since they were in a less crowded area and were situated in a place which was a little farther away from the speakers, Yumi could clearly hear the anger laced in her lover's voice. The few people that surrounded them gave them an odd look for a moment, before resuming their dancing and going back to their own worlds.

"So you're still not letting go of Shimako-san?" Sachiko said in disbelief.

"I can't let her go."

To Sachiko's chagrin, Yumi even proceeded to pull Shimako closer and hug her tighter.

"You don't understand." Yumi immediately reasoned upon seeing Sachiko's expression. "She's unconscious. And I need some help because she's heavy."

Sachiko momentarily looked confused, before her eyes travelled to Shimako's head slumped on Yumi's shoulder and onto her lifeless hands dangling at her sides.

Yumi seemed to be telling the truth. So the few retorts that came to Sachiko's mind were momentarily brushed aside as she hesitantly placed her arms around Shimako's body and helped in pulling her up. Since Yumi didn't let go of their friend yet, it looked like the three of them were embracing.

"So what are we going to do now?" Sachiko questioned. "Are we just going to hold onto her until someone comes to help us?"

"You look so cute when you're irritated."

Sachiko was taken aback at Yumi's offhanded reply. She had the gall to joke around in this situation?

But before Sachiko could voice out a retort, Yumi leaned forward and claimed her lips.

"I'm a little bit drunk right now." Yumi said, "And I am feeling so aroused that I was contemplating on getting out of this crowd and dragging you back to our room without anyone noticing."

Sachiko swallowed hard and felt her heartbeat quicken at Yumi's ruggedly sexy words. She hadn't heard her lover talk like that and it somehow made her feel so warm.

But before Yumi could seduce her further with that tongue of hers, they heard their friends' frantic voices.

"What happened, Sachiko?" Sei shouted.

"Noriko-chan, we need you here" Youko called out.

It seemed like Sei and Youko immediately followed when Sachiko rushed into the crowd.

Noriko came dashing towards them. "Ah Onee-sama!" she exclaimed. Her previously dazed expression disappeared as the shock of seeing her unconscious onee-sama had evidently cleared her head.

Together with Youko and Noriko, Sei proceeded to pull Shimako out of Sachiko and Yumi's arms. The sudden movements made Shimako stir.

"Shimako, can you stand up?" Sei worriedly asked her seour.

But Shimako just muttered some incomprehensible words. Sei shook her head, realizing that they didn't have a choice but to drag her imouto, since clearly Shimako would not be able to carry her own weight, let alone walk. So Sei proceeded to give instructions to Youko and Noriko on how they would carry Shimako back to their room.

Eriko seemed to have noticed the commotion and approached the group. "We should also take Touko-chan back. It seems she's hanging by a thread."

"I told you, you gave them too much to drink" Youko said.

"Let's argue later. I didn't realize Shimako and Touko have such low alcohol tolerance."

"How about Rei and Yoshino?" Sachiko asked.

"Just bring them with you. They are not inebriated enough to not be able to walk back to their room on their own. Although, it would be a challenge to disentangle them from each other. So I suggest you wait until they're done." Eriko smirked. "Let's go Nana-chan" she called out before she and her husband escorted her two juniors out of the crowd.

As she was watching their friends' retreating backs, Yumi felt gentle hands took hold of her arm.

"Let's go." Sachiko urged. "Don't tell me you're still planning to stay even if everyone has left already."

"Rei-sama and Yoshino are still here."

Sachiko looked at her with a bewildered expression.

But Yumi stubbornly pulled her arm out of Sachiko's grasp. Because if they were to go back now, they would never have a chance to be alone. And judging by her wetness and the slight pressure in her lower abdomen, Yumi knew she wouldn't last the night without her needs being satisfied.

"I think we should stay for a while." Yumi stubbornly said.

It was not as if Sachiko didn't understand what was going through her lover's mind. Yumi just wanted to be alone with her. And she did too. She couldn't mistake the lustful look in her lover's eyes, her flushed face and her partially parted wet lips, which were all clear signs of what Yumi needed for her to do. And Sachiko would very much want to satisfy those needs. But not here and not now. They were out in the open and Sachiko's strict training forbade her to do anything inappropriate in front of the public's eyes.

Sachiko took a tentative step back, away from Yumi's tempting body. Yumi had been dancing for quite some time, so her body was glistening with sweat. Sachiko was fighting the urge to ogle at Yumi's heaving exposed chest, or to her flat abdomen and luscious curves visible through her now wet thin cotton dress. Sachiko also averted her gaze from those exposed creamy legs that Yumi kept on rubbing together.

Sachiko swallowed hard and backed away another step. She was so good at controlling and masking her emotions, but not when it came to Yumi.

"What are you so afraid of, Sachiko?" Yumi smiled deviously as she sauntered towards her like a leopard stalking its prey. And by the seductive look in Yumi's usually innocent hazel eyes, she knew she would surely be devoured that instant if she doesn't reign over her own desires.

"Stop right there Yumi. Not here." Sachiko warned.

But she knew her attempts were futile just as she was forcefully pulled into Yumi's slender arms that felt surprisingly strong. Sachiko froze as Yumi leaned forward and assaulted her neck with kisses. She found it difficult to stifle the unladylike moan attempting to escape her lips.

"S-s-stop Yumi." Sachiko's control was slipping away as her body trembled through her lover's advances.

Yumi leaned closer and whispered in her ear. "Do you really want me to?"

Sachiko was torn between whole heartedly accepting Yumi's tempting offer to satisfy both their desires and pushing her lover away because she knew it was improper to be this intimate in public.

But she didn't have the time to choose when she heard a very surprised voice from behind her.

"Ogaswara-sama?!"


	8. Caught

**Caught**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Maria-sama ga Miteru or any of its characters.

A/N: Who got caught?

* * *

Youko was controlling her irritation.

It was clear that her partner had pushed it too far by putting most of their juniors in a state of inebriation. Noriko and Nana had sobered up, but appeared to still be a little light-headed and dazed. Meanwhile, Touko had passed out the moment her back hit the bed and Shimako started throwing up as soon as they reached their cabin.

Youko was massaging her temples to ease her headache, when she felt her phone vibrate. She fished it out of her pocket and saw a message from Eriko, telling her that she left Rei, Yoshino, Sachiko and Yumi behind. Youko sent a reply, telling Eriko not worry and that she will go back to get them. Those four were not nearly as drunk as Shimako or Touko were, so she alone would be sufficient in fetching them.

Youko looked up at the wall clock and noticed that it was 2 hours past midnight. She'd give the two couples a few more minutes before she headed out to get them.

"Youko" a very tired Sei approached and sat beside her on one of the beach chairs outside the deck. They had decided to bring their juniors to Yoshino's group's cabin.

"How is Shimako?"

"Asleep."

"You pushed it too far this time." Youko reprimanded, but kept her voice down since Sei looked forlorn enough.

"It was just a few shots. The only person that drank too much was Yumi-chan." Sei said dejectedly.

"Your definition of what a _few shots_ is, is clearly different from a normal person's, Sei. Especially since these girls don't drink as often as you do."

"I'm sorry" Sei buried her face in her hands.

Youko took her partner's hands and encased it in hers. She stared into her eyes and said, "Just give it up with these games, Sei. It seems Sachiko and Yumi are already comfortable with each other anyway."

"I know. I caught Yumi-chan looking at Sachiko earlier tonight. And it was a look that means they've made up. But whether they just fixed their misunderstanding, or are already back together, I am not sure."

"So the reason you're still messing with them is…"

Sei completed her partner's sentence, "because I want them to come clean with it."

Youko sighed. "Let's just have a quiet day tomorrow, shall we? We can try having surfing lessons or try paddle boarding. We can go sight-seeing or rent a boat and go island hopping."

When Sei did not reply, Youko continued. "I'm sure Sachiko and Yumi have a good reason for keeping their relationship a secret."

"They are not together yet. That's for sure. Because when Yoshino-chan and I spoke with Yumi-chan earlier, it sounded like Sachiko's existing marriage to that Kashiwagi Suguru remains to be a huge cause of distress for Yumi-chan. Well, whatever the case, I think they just want to mess with us." Sei said sulkily.

"That's just you being a sore loser, Sei. You're just too used to being the one to pull a trick on someone, and you couldn't accept that this time, it was Sachiko and Yumi-chan that tried to pull a trick on you. And anyway, you and Yoshino-chan were the ones who started this game. Have you considered that maybe, Sachiko and Yumi-chan were planning on telling everyone about them during this outing? But when they found out about your schemes, they changed their minds and decided to play this game with you? Sachiko is smart and perceptive. She also hates to lose and be deceived."

Sei frowned and she somehow knew that what Youko said was true.

Youko cupped her partner's cheeks and stared into her eyes. To Youko, Sei looked like a poor little puppy and she just couldn't stay mad at her for too long. "Do you understand, Sei? No more games."

Sei exhaled audibly, "I couldn't really argue with a lawyer and expect to win, right?"

"No, of course you can't."

* * *

Keiko was enjoying the beach party.

She was thrilled when she received an invitation from her friends to go to an out-of-the-country trip. She had been informed a few months in advance, so she had time to save up. However, despite already buying a plane ticket, she found it difficult to ask her boss if she could take a day-off. Fortunately, a week before her flight, Keiko had been informed that her boss would be on leave on the exact same day as her trip. So she grabbed the opportunity and asked if she could take a vacation leave as well. Needless to say, Ogasawara Sachiko-sama allowed her.

She and her friends danced with the crowd without even noticing that it was already 2 hours past midnight.

Keiko momentarily excused herself, saying that she would just go and get another beer. On her way back to the bar, she spotted a very familiar looking person. She needed to confirm if it was indeed who she thought it was. She could not mistake that pin-straight posture and that long black hair for anyone else, but her boss. So without thinking, she called out to her.

"Ogasawara-sama?"

Her boss disentangled herself from her partner and turned to face Keiko, clearly surprised.

Keiko was tongue-tied. Unsure of what to say. She was mentally berating herself. The look on her boss' usually stoic face made her realize that she shouldn't have called out to her and interrupted whatever it is she was doing. Keiko was just so shocked at the thought of her boss partying and wearing revealing clothes, that she felt a strong urge to confirm her hunch and unconsciously called out to her.

Keiko's gaze then travelled to her boss' _partner_ and her eyes widened again upon seeing who it was.

"Ah, Keiko-san?"

It was Yumi who broke the silence.

"F-Fukuzawa-san, hi."

Keiko eyes _raked_ Yumi's body. Her already flushed cheeks reddened some more as her eyes stayed a few seconds longer on Yumi's exposed chest before it travelled down those exposed legs.

Sachiko didn't miss her secretary's reaction and she could not hold back her irritation upon seeing where Keiko's gaze was directed at. This made Sachiko step in front of Yumi and out of Keiko's line of sight.

This shook Keiko out of her daze and met her boss' annoyed-looking eyes. Keiko was a little slow on some things and now was one of those times, because she couldn't quite figure out why her boss would be angry with her. She reeled back her memory and remembered the compromising position her boss was in just a few seconds ago, and there was no doubt that her partner was none other than the cute and innocent-looking Fukuzawa Yumi-san. If her memory remains to be accurate and not addled by the alcohol she just consumed, then that means…

Sachiko saw as the realization clicked in her secretary's mind. The look of bewilderment and disbelief was clearly visible in Keiko's face, as the younger woman's eyes widened and slowly turned to look from her to Yumi.

Sachiko didn't look away and met Keiko's gaze. At this, her secretary's face reddened in embarrassment at her obvious thoughts. And it was better that way in Sachiko's opinion. If Keiko knew the kind of relationship she had with Yumi, then probably her secretary could stop her shameless staring at Yumi's body and her obviously developing infatuation for her lover.

"Keiko" Sachiko said, putting her stoic mask back on.

Keiko flinched at the irritated manner her name was said. Thankfully it was her boss' friend who spoke.

"Could you not tell anyone about what you saw tonight?"

"Ah, of course Yumi-san!"

"Fukuzawa-san" Sachiko interjected.

Yumi, who thought she was called, and Keiko, who got curious as to why her boss addressed her friend that way, both looked at Sachiko.

"You should address her as Fukuzawa-san." Sachiko clarified.

Keiko's already red face turned a deeper shade of red. She was mortified. There was just something about Fukuzawa Yumi-san that made her feel comfortable. But probably she had been _too_ comfortable and mistakenly addressed her in a familiar way. Evidently, her boss was not pleased.

"Yes Ms. Sachiko" Keiko responded.

"Now, no need to be so strict, Sachiko. We are all on vacation, and right now, Keiko-san is just a tourist like us."

Keiko's rigid expression relaxed slightly.

Sachiko sighed, "Yumi's right. Just enjoy the night and please do me a favour and do not to say anything about seeing me here."

And without waiting for a response, Sachiko grabbed Yumi's hand and pulled her away from a still speechless Keiko.

* * *

Sei accompanied Youko in fetching Sachiko, Yumi, Rei and Yoshino who were still at the party. They easily spotted Rei and Yoshino. And not too far from them were Sachiko and Yumi, who appeared to be conversing with someone. Sei couldn't hear what was being said, but based on their facial expressions, it was clear that Sachiko was not pleased about something. But before Sei could approach, Sachiko hastily pulled Yumi out of the crowd.

Needless to say, Sei followed without any hesitation.

"Where are you going, Sei!"

Youko called out to her.

But Sei didn't stop, even for just a second, to look back because she knew she'd lose sight of Sachiko and Yumi. So she continued her hurried steps, evading the people that were either dancing or making out. Sei wasn't looking to where she was going as she rushed along the crowd with her eyes glued to Yumi's brown hair.

Sei smiled widely, knowing what those two were up to. She broke into a run when the two turned a corner and disappeared from her sight. Sei panicked that she had lost the two.

She soon broke out of the crowd and rushed along the dimly lit familiar passage way. But her eyes remained looking ahead, searching for any sign of Yumi or Sachiko, and not to where she was going.

Until…

Sei tripped…

"Pfft"

…and fell face forward to the ground.

"Hahahaha"

Sei looked up and saw Rei and Youko standing beside her, laughing.

Sei cursed loudly and looked in spite at the trashcan she tripped on.

"What's so funny?" She said angrily as she picked herself off of the ground.

"You are" Youko said, holding her stomach in mirth. "What are you rushing for anyway?"

"I was going after Sachiko and Yumi." Sei answered as she dusted herself off.

"I know, I saw them."

"Then why are we just standing here, Youko? We should go after them!"

This time, it was Rei who responded. "We don't have to. Judging by the direction their going, we know their destination."

It took at least half a second for Sei to realize what Rei meant. She momentarily looked around and cursed again, "Oh f***"

"Oh yes Ms. Genius. So we don't have to run after them, right? Since obviously, they are going to our cabin."

At this, both Rei and Youko laughed again.

"Instead of laughing, you should be looking after your _lover_ , Rei." Sei smirked.

Rei must have shaken out of her tipsiness due to all the running (and to Sei's chagrin, laughing), but apparently, it was not the case for Yoshino.

Rei immediately looked to her side and was surprised to find Yoshino leaning against the wall of one cabin, with her eyes closed and was slowly slipping down to the ground. Rei jumped to catch Yoshino's body.

Yoshino, still with her eyes closed, giggled and said "Rei-chan, not there."

Rei blushed and hastily removed her hands from Yoshino's chest. She had been too anxious to catch Yoshino that she failed to notice where her hand had landed.

Youko chose to ignore Rei's obvious embarrassment and said "I think we should just escort Rei and Yoshino-chan to their cabin."

"What, and miss out all the fun?" Sei said incredulously.

"You should wipe away the blood on your nose first, Sei-sama, before thinking of spying on Sachiko and Yumi-chan."

Sei touched her nose, it was indeed bleeding, probably from her fall earlier. She proceeded to wipe it with the sleeve of her shirt.

"We should just give them some privacy" Youko said.

"But what if they are going to have se-"

"We know Sei!" Youko raised her voice to stop her partner's words. "Geez"

"Oh come on, Youko, Rei" Sei said looking into their eyes, "are you telling me you're not the least bit interested to confirm if they not only fixed their issues and are already together? They are going to _do it_ and not just some petting like Rei and Yoshino were doing earlier."

Rei's face reddened and averted her gaze. She was contemplating on leaving to avoid further embarrassment, since clearly, that was what Sei had been doing since earlier. Probably as payback for laughing at her.

"It's obvious that my plan worked. It didn't even get to the 'seduction part' and I was able to get Sachiko out of that throne of hers and rush to that crowd. Yumi-chan had also been too drunk to maintain their secret and is now itching to get laid."

"Secret?" Rei asked, "What secret?"

Sei glanced at Rei meaningfully before the younger woman's eyes widened, "Oh." Then her eyebrows creased, "that's mean!" Rei exclaimed.

"I know, right?" Sei said. "We should pay them back by catching them _in action_."

"We've talked about this, Sei. You were the ones who started this."

Rei's hurtful expression dissipated and was soon replaced by shame, upon realizing that Youko's words were true. They were the ones who started these schemes. Sachiko (and probably Yumi-chan?) obviously hinted at it much faster that anyone had anticipated and chose to keep quiet and play this game with them.

Now it was Youko who asked, "What 'seduction part'?"

"It doesn't matter anymore" Sei averted her gaze, a clear sign of her nervousness, should her partner find out what it was. "My plan still worked and that's what matters."

Youko then donned a thoughtful expression. "Either your plan worked or they are back together."

"Well, they don't necessarily need to be together to _do it_ , right?" Sei asked.

"What are you talking about, Sei-sama? Sachiko would never –" Rei defended her close friend.

"Oh come on, Rei." Sei interjected and rolled her eyes. "It's Yumi-chan and Sachiko we're talking about. They have loved and _lusted_ for each other since they met in high school. They don't need to be in a relationship to actually do _that_."

It was not like Youko wasn't curious. But she was unsure if she wanted to confirm her hunch about her petite seour's relationship in this manner.

"I still think that spying on them is **not** a good idea, Sei-sama" Rei stressed.

"I am not forcing anyone to come with me. You three can go to the other cabin. Everyone's there."

Rei and Youko exchanged glances, as if mentally asking the other if they should go with Sei. However, their curiosity got the best of them. So they ended up silently walking towards their destination, with Sei in the lead and barely conscious Yoshino in tow.

As they made their way towards their cabin, Youko and Rei kept on shaking their head in disbelief at what they were about to do. Youko blamed the fact that her partner's eccentricities had rubbed off on her. While Rei blamed the alcohol in her system.

Sei stopped in front of their cabin. She turned to put a finger on her lips, gesturing for them to keep quiet, before she pressed the pressed the key card and gently opened the door. They tiptoed inside.

Rei led Yoshino to the couch before following their two seniors towards the bedroom.

Sei pressed an ear on the bedroom door. Sachiko and Yumi had been a few minutes ahead of them, and in Sei's opinion, it was good that she got delayed in following the couple. She was so sure that in that short amount of time of privacy, Sachiko and Yumi would already be comfortable and _hopefully_ started doing their deed. It increases the likelihood of them to be caught in the heat of the moment.

"They are so quiet" Sei whispered to Youko, who like her had an ear on the door.

Rei just watched the whole spectacle. She was crouched down on the floor beside the two because there wasn't any room for her to squeeze in. "Do you hear anything?" Rei said in the quietest voice she could muster.

Youko narrowed her eyes, "Sssh. Be quiet."

Youko and Sei's eyes widened suddenly when they heard the rustling of sheets. It was followed by a scraping sound, as if the bed was being moved. They exchanged glances and pressed their ears harder against the door.

 _Wow, that is one wild lovemaking,_ Sei thought.

 _I shouldn't be doing this,_ Youko mused but still kept an ear on the door.

 _What is going on? I want to listen in too._ Rei said to herself. _These actions of mine are due to the influence of alcohol,_ she added resolutely as an afterthought, believing that she wouldn't be doing this if she was sober.

"Now is a good time to surprise them." Sei whispered deviously. She then stood up and tried to turn the knob…but it was locked.

But Sei would not give up just yet. She tiptoed outside and crouched down, in front of their cabin and just below the window of Sachiko and Yumi's bedroom. She was already peeking through the window when she felt Rei and Youko squat beside her.

"Let's stop this, Sei-sama" Rei whispered.

But Sei ignored her.

The curtains were drawn, but since a single lamp was lit, they could see the shadows of the people inside. Through the window, they could see someone was lying on the bed, while the other person was leaning over.

"Sei" Youko warned, when her partner started opening the window.

Sei just snickered and ignored Youko, "I wish I had a camera so I could capture the look on their faces" she said.

Until…

"Sei-sama?!"

Sei stopped moving as her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"You too, onee-sama? Rei?"

Youko didn't need to turn around to confirm who it was, she knew those voices very well. And by the shocked look on Sei's face and the mortified look on Rei's, they seem to have realized who had caught them snooping.

To add to their humiliation, another familiar voice spoke from behind them. And this time, it was Youko who uncharacteristically cursed under her breath.

"Wow, I am so glad I came with you. I never thought I'd ever live to see Rei, or especially Youko, in this situation."

 _S**t_

* * *

A/N: Now, who got caught? ^^ Were you able to guess it correctly? Let me know your thoughts.


	9. Unexpected Ally

**Unexpected Ally**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Maria-sama ga Miteru or any of its characters.

A/N: Where were Sachiko and Yumi? Who were inside Sachiko and Yumi's bedroom? This chapter happened in the same time frame as the previous one.

For now, can you guess who the _unexpected ally_ is?

Warning: The story is rated "M" because of this chapter. Lemon ahead.

* * *

Touko stirred.

She knew she drank too much earlier. Her head was pounding and her sense of balance had been off, so she chose to neither move nor talk too much when they were still at the beach party. Good thing their seniors had arrived and escorted them to Noriko's group's cabin, which was somehow closer than theirs.

Her vision was spinning and she desperately needed to lie down. Since everyone had been fussing over Shimako, it had been Nana who ushered Touko into the bedroom to rest.

Touko had her eyes closed for some time, however, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't totally doze off. She had been drifting in and out of sleep and it was doing nothing but intensify her headache. Until she eventually decided that her attempts to get a wink of sleep were futile.

Touko opened her eyes and sat up.

"Touko!" Noriko's loud voice pounded against her head as her close friend rushed to her side.

She closed her eyes again and massaged her forehead, to lessen her nausea. "Not so loud Noriko."

"Ooops, sorry. How are you feeling?"

"Horrible."

"Shimako-sama and Nana-chan?"

"Asleep."

"I need to go back to our cabin." Touko said.

Unlike in their villa, the room Touko was occupying had two separate beds and an extra bed. It was supposed to be for Shimako, Nana and Noriko. While the other room only has one queen-sized bed for Rei and Yoshino.

Her close friend was evidently worried about her and had insisted for her to stay. But Touko would not back down. She didn't want to be an inconvenience and anyway, it's just a short walk back to their villa.

Noriko eventually, but still reluctantly, agreed. But it was on the condition that Noriko will accompany her and not let her go back alone. So after washing her face to somehow clear her head and after drinking a glass of water to wash away some of the remaining alcohol in her system, they headed out the door and walked into the now deserted pathway.

"I'm surprised you can hold your alcohol really well." Touko said.

"Seeing your onee-sama suddenly lose consciousness was a more effective way to clear your head than a bucket of ice water."

Touko smiled sheepishly, agreeing that she'll probably be just as worried as Noriko if it were her onee-sama who fainted.

They soon reached their destination. Touko pressed her key card against the lock and pushed it open, not surprised to find it deserted. It seemed that all her cabin mates were still at the party. She switched on the lights in the sitting room before heading towards their bedroom.

"I'll be fine now, Noriko" she said.

"I'll stay with you until the others arrive. I think I heard Youko-sama and Sei-sama heading out to get Sachiko-sama, Yumi-sama, Rei-sama and Yoshino-sama. They'll surely bring them here."

Touko didn't argue any further and entered the bedroom to get some a change of clothes. And after showering, she joined her friend in the bedroom and while waiting for the others to arrive, they lied down on the bed and exchanged stories about what happened in their lives for the past years.

Noriko was telling her about the last Buddhist statue she had viewed when they heard the sound of door being opened, then closed. They exchanged glances and stopped talking, trying to listen intently as to who it was.

"Ssssh" Noriko said, placing a finger on her lips.

Touko need not be reminded because she knew they were both thinking the same thing. It couldn't possibly be their seniors because it was too quiet.

So they held their breaths for a moment until Noriko finally decided to check out who it was. Noriko stood up from the bed, rustling the sheets as she sat up and crawled towards Touko's side of the bed where she left her slippers. But as she made her way towards the door, she accidentally hit the extra bed, forgetting it was there. She noticed it earlier and remembered Touko telling her that before they left for the party, Yumi had called room service to request for an extra bed to be brought to their room (they'd squeeze it in somehow, Yumi reasoned).

Noriko winced in pain and Touko rushed to her immediately. When the pain soon subsided, they moved the extra bed towards the edge of the room and out of the way. They then tiptoed towards the door and pressed their ears against it, trying to listen again for any sound.

They again heard the sound of the door being opened.

 _Was it a burglar?_ Noriko thought to herself.

And the worried look on Touko's face made Noriko realize that they shared the same thoughts.

Noriko gestured for Touko to stand back a little as she cracked the bedroom door open. She peered outside but didn't see anyone (they opened the door at the same time the Rei closed the front door). It puzzled Noriko so she opened it widely and held her breath as she scanned the room outside for any sign of robbery. She was only able to breathe when she saw Yoshino sleeping on the couch.

"It's just Yoshino-sama" Noriko turned to say to Touko.

"I see." Touko also released the breath she was holding. "Then you can head back since I already have some company."

"But where is Rei-sama? She'd never leave Yoshino-sama behind." Noriko said.

"She's probably in the bathroom or something. And I guess that's what we heard, the bathroom door being opened and closed."

"But why are they here? They're supposed to sleep in the other cabin with us." Something's not sitting well with Noriko.

"I guess Sei-sama wanted to be close to Shimako-sama."

Noriko nodded, "I guess you're right. Sei-sama was pretty worried about Shimako-san earlier. Anyway, you should also lie down and sleep."

Touko thanked her friend once more and laid back down on the extra bed. Noriko leaned forward and pulled the sheets up to Touko's chin.

"I am not a little kid" Touko said with her eyes closed.

"Sure. Whatever." Noriko smiled, she truly missed her close friend. Touko had been overseas most of the time due to her studies and they rarely had the chance to have a time to chat like this. So she wanted to stay a little longer. But Touko was looking more and more sleepy by the second.

Noriko was still leaning over Touko when they both heard…

"Sei-sama?!"

Noriko and Touko exchanged glances with one thing in mind, _What's going on?_

* * *

Sachiko pulled Yumi out of the crowd. She felt so relieved that it was only Keiko who saw them. Her secretary had only been with her for a few years, but she was among the people that Sachiko trusts. So she had no doubt that their unexpected meeting that night would remain to be a secret.

Sachiko walked faster as they exited the crowd and walked onto the familiar pathway going to their villa. She knew that once they reached their cabin, it was highly unlikely for them to be alone. But Sachiko couldn't risk being seen and she knew she would not be able to resist it if Yumi decided to seduce her again. Despite her strong and dominating personality, her control easily crumbled when it came to Yumi.

But as they neared their cabin, Yumi suddenly pulled her to the side and pushed her against the wall of a cabin close by. She only had a split second to see the lustful look in Yumi's eyes, before her lover crashed her lips against hers and engaged her into a passionate kiss. Sachiko was so surprised that she remained motionless for moment. It was only when Yumi slipped in her tongue to deepen their kiss, that Sachiko was able to recover and return her lover's advances. She reasoned that anyway, the place where they were was deserted, poorly lit and situated in a place where no one would accidentally pass by. The only way they would be seen is if the owners of the cabin peeked out of their window.

Sachiko also wasn't able to refuse when Yumi lifted her cropped top and slipped in a hand to cup her breast. And as if it wasn't enough, Yumi snaked a hand to unclasp her bra from behind and lifted up the garments covering her front. Without preamble, Yumi lunged and sucked on Sachiko's left breast. Her lover's actions were far from gentle. Yumi's mouth was so warm and her ministration was so arousing that Sachiko was having a hard time suppressing the moan that was about to escape her lips. She put a hand to cover her mouth and bit the skin on her palm to quiet herself.

A few seconds later, Yumi hastily removed the hand covering her mouth to claim her lips. Sachiko had been so drowned in euphoria to notice that Yumi's mouth left her breast and crept up to her bare shoulders, moved up to the exposed skin of her neck, then up to her mouth. Again, Yumi's actions were so rough, but ruggedly sexy for Sachiko, that she not only returned her lover's kisses, but she lunged at Yumi so suddenly. The impact made her lover take an unsteady step backwards. Sachiko pulled her lover back and closer to her. She angled her head so she could deepen their kiss and match Yumi's heated and passionate advances earlier. And with their lips still locked, she lifted the hem of her lover's short dress and slipped her hand inside. She caressed Yumi's inner thigh, letting her hand touch her beloved's most sensitive part once in a while to tease her. She felt Yumi shudder, as a very erotic growl escaped her throat.

Sachiko knew that Yumi wanted to pull away from her assaulting lips and moan in pleasure when she pressed her fingers on her lover's core and rubbed it gently. But she didn't allow Yumi to break their kiss, even for a second. Instead, she pressed her lips harder against her lover's as she slipped two fingers inside Yumi's already dripping womanhood. Yumi groaned against her lips and Sachiko just smiled. She was done petting. If Yumi wanted a fast and rough lovemaking, then that's what she'll get.

Sachiko momentarily removed her fingers, making Yumi whine in protest. Sachiko smiled teasingly.

"So impatient", she whispered before she took hold of Yumi's shoulders and turned them around. She pushed her lover against the wall, knowing that Yumi was going to need to lean onto something with what she was about to do. Sachiko smirked, feeling extremely pleased to be the dominant one and for making Yumi weak and helpless with her ministrations.

She claimed her lover's lips once more, and at the same time reinserted her fingers. She even pressed their lips harder as she increase the pace of her ministrations, drowning out any sound that attempted to escape from her lover's lips. She felt Yumi placed both hands on her shoulders for support, but Sachiko just moved her fingers faster and faster until Yumi's whole body jerked and shuddered, and hot liquid passion flowed out, down to her fingers. Their lips were still locked, but it wasn't enough to drown out the lustful moan that came for her lover's throat upon Yumi's most awaited release.

She felt Yumi's knees buckle and Sachiko was there to catch her. She pulled Yumi's body closer to her and held her tight. Yumi was still shaking and breathing hard.

"Let – me – return – the – favour" Yumi said in between deep breaths.

And Sachiko wanted her to, but she knew her lover was so exhausted. So she just affectionately said "perhaps some other time, Yumi."

They were still locked in an embrace when they heard a voice that filled them with dread.

"Sachiko? Yumi-chan?"

* * *

Eriko and her husband went back to their cabin after they escorted Touko and Nana back to theirs. She then sent a text message to Youko to inform her that Rei, Yoshino, Sachiko and Yumi were still at the party. When her friend responded that she will be the one to get the others, she had been relieved.

After a quick shower, she went into their bedroom and found her husband reading a book. But once she entered, her husband put down his book on the bedside table and they talked. It had been a habit of theirs before sleeping, talking about things that happened to them during the day, about her husband's students and colleagues or about her job at the museum as a curator.

Her husband had been in the middle of sharing a story about what happened during one event at Hanadera when they heard noises outside of their window. Her husband motioned for her to stay in place as he checked it out. With a stick as a makeshift weapon in hand (not sure where he got it), he slowly opened the window and peeked outside. To Eriko's surprise, her husband immediately withdrew his head and stood rigid as a board. The expression on his face was unreadable when he finally turned to face her. He then placed a finger on his lips, gesturing for her to keep quiet, because he noticed Eriko was about to open her mouth probably to ask what he saw. When Eriko shut her mouth shut and nodded, her husband gently closed the window and approached to whisper in her ear.

"Your friends are outside"

Eriko was about to stand up and see for herself who exactly those friends were, but she was pulled back onto the bed. With a serious face, her husband shook his head, as if telling her not to go and look.

"Give them a few more minutes." He whispered.

But now that Eriko's interested, there was no way for her to back down. Her husband must have realized this too, because he immediately pulled her closer and claimed her lips.

"What's gotten into you?" Eriko pulled away and asked.

"Trust me on this one" he said before kissing her again and Eriko allowed him this time. They continued kissing, even as she was pushed down on the bed and warm gentle hands caressed her arm.

However, as she was about to slip a hand underneath her husband's white shirt, they heard a suppressed moan from the outside. Apparently, her husband was not able to close the window properly, so no matter how soft the voices were (it really sounded like a muffled erotic moan to Eriko), they were still able to hear it.

Her curiosity got the best of her and she pushed her husband off of her.

"I really need to see who it is." Eriko said with finality, not leaving any room for argument.

Her husband hastily stood up, "not through the window, use the front door".

"Fine" at least she could give him that, despite not understanding why her husband had been protecting whatever it is her friends were doing just outside their cabin. And anyway, walking to the front door will just take a few seconds if she hurry.

Eriko slipped on a robe and walked hastily to their front door. Her husband chose to stay behind, which just made her all the more eager to see who and what it was. Because if her husband was this uncomfortable and he said it was her friend _s,_ then it could only mean one thing. They (it could only be one of the two couples they left at the party) were doing something inappropriate and Eriko was not so nice so as to give them privacy.

 _This will be fun_ , Eriko thought.

So with a smirk on her face, she took hurried steps towards the side of their cabin. To her dismay, it appeared like they were done. The lighting was poor, and Eriko wished she had turned it on before she stepped outside, just so she could see how messed up their appearances were.

"Sachiko? Yumi-chan?"

Her sudden arrival caught them by surprise, making Sachiko instinctively jump away from Yumi and hastily fixed her dishevelled hair and clothes.

In Sachiko's surprise, she unknowingly pushed her partner, causing Yumi to lose balance and topple over.

"Ah, Yumi!" Sachiko cursed her carelessness and rushed to her lover. She positioned her body in such a way that Eriko wouldn't notice as she pulled down Yumi's dress when she crouched down, before helping her to stand up.

Sachiko swallowed hard and tried to relax her still madly beating heart, "Eriko-sama" she started, and wished her voice remained steady. "You surprised us."

Eriko sported a teasing look, "I did? What were you doing?"

"What are you doing here, Eriko-sama?" Sachiko answered her with a question.

"This is where we're staying." Eriko said matter-of-factly. "While yours is still at least two cabins away."

Sachiko couldn't find a response to that.

"Why are you hiding the fact that you are already together?" Eriko asked.

Silence.

"Can I please use your bathroom?"

Eriko and Sachiko turned to look at Yumi. And the youngest of the three just smiled in response to their questioning look.

Eriko smiled back, "Sure, Yumi-chan."

As Yumi entered the bathroom, Eriko and Sachiko sat in the sitting room.

"So, can you please answer my question now?" Eriko demanded.

And Sachiko chose not to hide it any longer. All her actions that night had been dead giveaways already.

"We planned on telling everyone about it during this outing." Sachiko started, but immediately went on defence. "But I noticed that some, or most of you were scheming to get us back together."

"And you don't like people ganging up on you?" Eriko said.

"We just decided to play along." Sachiko responded stubbornly.

Eriko just smirked, "Sure. That sounds reasonable."

Then to Eriko's surprise, Sachiko's cheeks blushed. "What did you see, earlier?" she said in a small voice, contrary to her earlier more forceful tone.

"Do you want me to describe it detail by detail?" Eriko said mockingly. Sachiko doesn't need to know that she didn't see anything because her husband detained her.

Sachiko blushed a deeper shade of red. "No, please don't."

"That was some hot steamy…"

"Thank you for letting me use your bathroom, Eriko-sama." Yumi said politely, stopping her senior's teasing words. She just exited the bathroom and now looked a little more presentable. But her face remained flushed, either due to the alcohol or to her embarrassment for being caught.

"No problem Yumi-chan." Eriko responded with a smile, but she would not let the matter drop just yet, "Sachiko and I were just talking about what you were doing outside of our cabin."

Yumi's eyes widened and her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red.

Eriko's eyes crinkled in amusement.

"Umm, can we not talk about it please?" Yumi cast her eyes to the ground and said in a quiet voice.

"Haven't you have enough fun at our expense, Eriko-sama?" Sachiko asked heatedly.

"Oh cool down, Sachiko. If you weren't making out outside someone else's cabin, you wouldn't be in this position anyway."

Sachiko folded her arms on her chest and huffed, but didn't utter another word.

"Please don't tease us any further, Eriko-sama." Yumi said. "And I think we should head back to our own cabin, the others might already be worried about us."

"Oh, they wouldn't be if they find out what you were doing" Eriko laughed.

"Eriko-sama…" Yumi gave her a pleading look and her laugh toned down to only a smile.

"Sure…sure… It's really hard to say 'no' to you, Yumi-chan."

"You have no idea" Sachiko said in an undertone.

Eriko looked at Sachiko cheekily again, "Oh, I think I have an idea how difficult it must be for you, Sachiko."

Sachiko shut her mouth shut and averted her gaze, she clearly was no match for her senior.

"Anyway, I will accompany you back to your cabin, Yumi-chan, Sachiko."

"You don't have to, Eriko-sama." Yumi said.

 _Yes, you don't have to._ Sachiko decided not to voice out her thoughts this time.

"I insist" Eriko smiled sweetly to Yumi. She had a feeling that the fun for that night isn't over yet.

After telling her husband that she would be escorting her juniors to their cabin, the three of them walked in silence, for which Yumi had been thankful for. She and Sachiko had been mortified enough that Eriko saw them (not to mention her endless teasing about it), how much more if it had been her husband? And the fact that Eriko's husband refused to meet their eyes and had a permanent red tinge on his cheeks when he exited the bedroom to see them off, had been enough of a proof that he had indeed witnessed what Yumi and Sachiko were doing earlier.

As they neared their cabin, they say three people crouching down by their window.

"Sei-sama?!"

Sei visibly stiffened upon hearing Yumi's voice.

"You too, onee-sama? Rei?"

Yumi, Sachiko and Eriko exchanged glances, but each held a different expression. Yumi looked quizzical, trying to figure out what their friends were doing, Sachiko's eyes widened in disbelief and Eriko's lips cracked into a wide smile, clearly amused at finding their friends in such a position.

"Wow, I am so glad I came with you. I never thought I'd ever live to see Rei, or especially Youko, in this situation." Eriko said laughing.

Youko could not find the strength to stand up and face their friends. She was just so mortified. And as if that wasn't enough, the bedroom window they were peeking in earlier was opened to reveal Touko and Noriko. They were sporting a surprised look as they stared at Youko, Rei and Sei.

"What's going on?" Noriko said, her brows creased.

"Oh great, everyone's here" Sei finally said, shaking out of her initial shock. She stood up straight and looked around. "W-we were just…" she started sheepishly, which was so unlike her usual boisterous self.

"Snooping around" Sachiko said with a sigh.

Yumi chose not to speak. She was a little slow in reading the situation earlier, but when it finally clicked in her head, she blushed profusely.

"Eavesdropping?" Touko asked.

"Definitely peeping" Eriko said smirking.

 _At what? We were just talking._ Noriko wanted to say. But after a few seconds… _Oh_ , her mouth shaped the words upon realizing where they were and whose room they were occupying. Her gaze unconsciously drifted to Yumi and Sachiko, and when her eyes met with Sachiko's, she immediately averted her gaze and blushed.

"Ahem" Youko cleared her throat and put on a diplomatic expression, which was not effective because her cheeks remained to be red. "I-I suggest we all go inside and talk about this in a calm and civilized manner."

"Oh come on Youko. You were caught red handed. Just admit it already." Eriko said.

"Fine, you got us." Sei said, answering on behalf of her partner.

"We got you doing what?" Eriko was having so much fun.

"Checking out if Yumi and Sachiko were making out!" Sei said exasperatedly. "There, happy?"

"Very" Eriko answered.

"Where did you go?" Rei said, finally finding her voice.

Sachiko looked straight into her close friend's eyes and answered. "We were at Eriko-sama's." There was no point in hiding it any longer since surely, Eriko would not be holding her tongue just because they asked her to. It's better to say it in her own words than Eriko's.

Rei was still trying to understand how they ended up in her onee-sama's cabin when they just lost sight of the couple for a few minutes. "What were you doing there?"

"What you thought we were doing here" came Sachiko's curt reply.

Everyone couldn't find a response to that, even Eriko or Sei.

"So if we are done discussing our sex life, I suggest we all take on my onee-sama's initial offer and head back inside." Sachiko said with finality, before grabbing Yumi's hand and walking towards the front door.

"I never saw that one coming." Rei said, her eyes still wide in shock at Sachiko's admittance.

"Did they really do _that_ in your cabin?" Sei asked in disbelief.

Touko dragged Noriko out of the window and into the villa, deciding that she didn't want to hear the answer to that.

"They were outside." Eriko answered, sparing a glance as their two juniors closed the window.

"Did you really see them do it?" Youko asked.

Eriko was still debating with herself whether or not she should lie, when Youko answered for her.

"You didn't." Youko had been a lawyer for some time to know when someone is lying. And Eriko's split-second hesitation was more than enough to prove she saw nothing.

"Let's just forget about what happened tonight and have good clean fun tomorrow. Just like what a reunion amongst friends is supposed to be." Youko said.

"Nice try, Youko. But I'll never forget this as long as I live." Eriko said before she waved goodbye to her friends and went back to her cabin.

At least Eriko had the last laugh.

* * *

Sachiko woke up early the next day. A very rare occurrence for a person like her with low blood pressure.

She and Yumi took quick showers and went straight to bed, not giving any opportunity for any of their friends to tease or question them further. Yumi had been too tired and fell asleep the moment her head hit the bed, but it was not the case for Sachiko. After her bath, she suddenly thought about checking her email. And because of that one email she received, all thoughts of sleep left her and it was replaced by anxiousness.

So when dawn broke, Sachiko got up, earlier than any of her roommates and knocked on the bedroom door beside theirs. She had drifted in and out of sleep for the past hours and it gave her a headache, but she ignored this because there were more pressing matters that needed to be addressed.

It was Youko who opened the door. Her eyes were still puffy and red.

"Sachiko" her voice was still weak and laced with sleepiness.

"Sorry to wake you up onee-sama, but I need your help with something."

The anxious look on Sachiko's face made Youko snap out of her drowsiness. "Is something wrong?"

Sachiko shook her head and told Youko what kind of help she needed.

Youko broke into a huge smile. "We need Sei for this."

* * *

A/N: Were you able to correctly guess who the _unexpected ally_ was?

We are almost at the end. Most of their friends now know the status of their relationship, with the exception of those who are either drunk or asleep.

Good day and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Hope you could share your thoughts.


	10. Schemes

Disclaimer: I do not own Maria-sama ga Miteru or any of its characters.

* * *

A/N: I want to express my sincerest thanks to all those who left comments and reviewed my story, those who included me and my stories in their favorite list and finally, to **Imoshen88** for the beta'ing my story.

And here we have the final chapter. In the end, _who's plans or schemes do you think succeeded?_

* * *

Yumi cracked her eyes open with a start.

She allowed a small smile to graze her lips, feeling absolutely wonderful. She had a good night's sleep, not to mention a really good quick lovemaking before that, and she felt well rested despite a long night of drinking. It was one of the very few times she woke up without a hangover after a night of partying.

Yumi sat up and stretched her arms and her back. Sachiko and Touko were nowhere to be seen. It seems she woke up late, but as to how late, she had no idea. She stood up from the bed and picked up her phone to check the time and was somehow shocked that it was already a few minutes past noon. She had missed breakfast entirely and none of her friends even thought of waking her up. But then again, they were probably just considerate of her. For one, Sachiko knew she hadn't slept well the whole week because of her project, so Yumi thought her lover requested their friends to allow Yumi to sleep in.

Yumi headed out of their bedroom and into the bathroom to brush her teeth and bathe. She was humming a tune while showering, enjoying the feel of the cool water on her skin. For whatever reason, Yumi felt like today was going to be a good day. She went back to the bedroom to dress up and fixed the bed. She still saw no one, so she guessed everyone was at the dining pavilion, probably having lunch.

After grabbing the room key, which was left on a table by the front door, she walked out of their cabin. The sky was cloudy and she enjoyed the light cool breeze that caressed her face. She decided not to rush and just enjoy the scenery which she was not able to take notice of the previous day. She looked around and noticed the big trees that lined the pathway leading to countless cabins. She spotted Eriko's cabin and she blushed at the memory. It was one of the few but adventurous things she had done with Sachiko. Despite how embarrassing it was that they got caught, it was undoubtedly something she would commit to memory and never forget.

From afar, she could see the turquoise ocean spanning for miles. The surface of which shined like diamonds when hit by the sunlight. There were small islands in the distance and Yumi wished they could go and visit one of those islands and enjoy a day of swimming with her friends.

A frown unconsciously lined her lips when she remembered that she had to face Yoshino's wrath when she finds out that she had kept her relationship with Sachiko a secret. But she had a good defence and it was nothing to be worried about. She was in good spirits and it seemed nothing would be able to dampen her mood.

She soon reached the dining pavilion. Even at a distance, she easily spotted her friends. But she was puzzled that Sachiko was not with them.

"Good morning" she greeted happily as soon as she reached their table.

But it appeared like her appearance had greatly surprised her friends because at that moment all conversations died down.

Then…

"Yumi-chan!" Rei stood up so suddenly that her knees hit the table, causing it to shake.

Noriko dropped the glass she was holding and it landed on the table with a thud, spilling its contents. Thankfully, it remained unbroken.

Sei choked and Eriko, with a smirk, handed her glass of water.

Touko froze.

Yoshino stopped what she was saying midsentence, and in effect had her mouth hanging open.

Nana gave Yumi an anxious look and elbowed her own onee-sama to close her mouth shut.

Lastly, Shimako shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Yumi gave them a quizzical look. "What's going on?" She asked.

"What do you mean, Onee-sama?" Touko said with a straight face. But Yumi, being her seour for a long time, knew that her imouto had put her _actress_ mask back on.

 _Was it because of what Sachiko and I did last night?_ Yumi thought. Yumi's cheeks flamed and decided not to question any of her friends' eccentric behaviour and proceeded to walk towards one vacant seat. She was afraid to be teased again, just like what Eriko did the previous night.

"U-um. You should get some food from the buffet first, onee-sama. Let me accompany you." Touko said.

"Sure" Yumi said and proceeded to stand up.

* * *

Lunch had been a surprisingly quiet event for Yumi. It was even more suspicious when Sei, Noriko, Nana and Touko excused themselves a few minutes after she came back to their table, leaving Yoshino, Eriko and Shimako with her. They said that they'd be preparing for the island hopping that afternoon.

"Why is everyone acting so weird?" Yumi asked.

"They're just anxious about something" Eriko said.

Yoshino shot Eriko a glare, but Yumi missed it.

"Is it still about last night?" Yumi finally decided to ask thinking it was better to be humiliated and teased by her friends, rather than be ignored totally. She had been bracing herself for the teasing, but the conversation took a different turn than what she had expected.

"Oh, last night was fun." Eriko commented.

"I slept through it." Yoshino complained, seemingly back to her usual self.

"So did I" Shimako said with a red tinge on her cheeks.

"How are you feeling, Shimako-san?"

"I'm feeling better now, Yumi-san. I was informed by Noriko that I lost consciousness, after my onee-sama handed me some shots. Then we proceeded to join the crowd in dancing…then…" Shimako's eyebrows creased, "My memory seemed to have stopped there. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Oh, do you really want to know, Shimako-san?" Yoshino snorted.

"Is it something that I shouldn't know about?" Shimako said nervously. "Did I do something foolish?"

"Nothing foolish. But it was like seeing a different Shimako-san." Yoshino continued.

"I didn't know you had it in you, Shimako." Eriko started. "Didn't you remember that you danced sensually with Yumi-chan?"

Shimako's cheeks flamed.

"And that you touched Yumi-chan's body suggestively and…"

Shimako covered her face with both her hands. "Okay, I think that's enough, Eriko-sama."

"…you kissed Yumi's neck."

"Please, Eriko-sama. This is embarrassing."

"And then you passed out on Yumi-chan's shoulders." Eriko finished. "See, that wasn't so bad. It was a rather short moment when we witnessed the _temptress_ Shimako."

"Oh gods… I am so sorry Yumi-san." Shimako exclaimed, clearly mortified.

"D-don't worry about it Shimako-san. You were drunk and you didn't know what you were doing." Yumi reasoned.

Shimako peeked out of her hands to look at Yumi's face. Judging from the warmth on her cheeks, she knew her face was as red as Yumi's.

"But what happened after that was even more interesting" Eriko continued.

"Yes, but you refused to say anything about it when we asked you for details earlier." Yoshino huffed.

"So what did she tell you exactly?" Yumi asked.

"It was only me, Shimako-san and Nana who didn't know what happened." Yoshino started, but then paused, trying to find the right words to say. Eriko just smirked, letting either Yoshino or Shimako share with Yumi her version of the story.

"Well" Shimako started, but was unable to continue.

"You did something beyond what Shimako-san did." Yoshino finished.

"Hey! Yoshino-san!" Shimako's usually gentle voice turned a pitch higher.

"Come on Yoshino. Why are you so embarrassed to repeat the words that I used? It's not like you haven't done it with Rei, right? And as to why I didn't go into details, it's because it's more fun to tell the story when both Yumi-chan and Sachiko are present." Eriko said with merriment in her eyes.

"You're evil, Eriko-sama."

"And you just realized this now, Yoshino-chan?" Eriko smiled sweetly, contrary to how she had just been described by her junior.

"Where is Sachiko, anyway?" Yumi asked, hoping to side track the discussion.

At this, Shimako and Yoshino exchanged nervous glances.

It was Eriko who answered, "She has an important business matter to attend to."

Yumi gazed into their senior's eyes, hoping she could to read exactly what those words meant. But Eriko just stared back at her.

"Youko is with her, helping her out."

"I wish she had woke me up then, so I could help out too."

"Oh, you wouldn't be able to." Eriko said.

"Is it some legal matter?" Yumi thought it probably was, if she needed Youko's help for it.

"You can say that."

"Anyway, why didn't you tell me that you already talked, Yumi-san?" Yoshino pouted. Her reaction was far from the angry best friend Yumi was expecting.

"I already answered that for you, Yoshino-chan."

Yoshino averted her gaze in discomfort. Apparently, Eriko took the liberty to also share that specific part of the story with everyone, the reason why Yumi and Sachiko kept the status of their relationship a secret to everyone.

"But how did it happen? Did you go to their office the fourth time?"

"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I had been busy the whole week due to a project." Yumi looked at her best friend and apologized. "I had the chance to speak with Sachiko just the week before and it was through the help of Suguru-san."

"You asked for that man's help?!" Yoshino exclaimed emphatically.

"I didn't **ask** for it."

"What do you mean, Yumi-san?" Shimako asked.

And Yumi told them the story about the meeting. How Suguru-san advanced the schedule of the meeting to an earlier date than planned, how he asked for Yumi's boss to bring her with them to join the meeting and how he forced Sachiko to attend despite it not being her project.

"I always knew that Kashiwagi Suguru was a cunning man, to plan out everything for your _meeting_ with Sachiko." Eriko said.

" _Ogasawara_ Suguru" Yumi corrected.

Again, the three exchanged glances. But this time, it was with a smile.

Yumi decided not to ask anymore, because surely, she will not be getting answers. Anyway, she would know eventually, probably before the day ends.

"Anyway, let's get back to our rooms and prepare. We're going island hopping this afternoon." Eriko said.

* * *

Yumi headed back to their villa, still trying to decipher her friends' actions during lunch. But her musing was interrupted when she heard Touko's voice.

"What took you so long, onee-sama?" Touko asked. She was standing in front of their cabin with her hands on her hips.

"We were chatting, why?"

"We will miss our plane." Touko said.

"Plane?"

"We rented seaplanes to take us to visit an island."

"Oh. I thought we were going to rent a boat."

Touko led her to their room and handed her a white lacy dress. Not giving her a chance to voice out her question, her imouto immediately said, "We went shopping this morning and I thought that dress will look good on you."

Yumi held the dress in front of her.

"And I will be more than happy if you wear it now."

Touko's smile was so sweet and loving that Yumi couldn't say 'no'.

"Alright, if that is what my cute petite seour wants, then it shall be done." Yumi said, cupping her little sister's cheeks.

Touko lunged at her and hugged her tightly.

Yumi was taken aback at her little sister's actions.

"What's wrong, Touko?" Yumi asked.

"I love you onee-sama. You deserve all the happiness in the world because you are a wonderful person." Touko said.

Yumi didn't know what caused Touko to be this sentimental. Was it because she agreed to wear the dress that her little sister bought for her? It seemed like a trivial matter for Touko to be moved to tears with joy. But since it was very rare for her uptight and serious petite seour to act like this, Yumi decided not to question it further and just placed her arms around the younger woman to embrace her tightly.

"I love you too, Touko."

After their heartfelt exchange, Touko pulled away and ushered her to the bathroom. Saying that they've already wasted precious time.

"How about Sachiko?" Yumi asked again.

"We'll meet her there."

"She's that busy, huh?"

"We'll not fit in one plane anyway."

Touko closed the bathroom door for her, not giving her another chance to speak.

It was a sleeveless white dress with two layers. Underneath was a layer of soft cotton that felt comfortable on her skin and on top was a lacy fabric with flower patterns and designs. It was a loose fitting dress that fell a few inches above her knees. It fit her perfectly, as if it was made just for her.

She couldn't help but be happy at her imouto's thoughtfulness for buying her something so nice. However, she couldn't bring herself to smile because somehow, her heart started beating wildly against her chest. Everything about the day was turning out to be good…so good in fact that it felt like a bad omen. Like the quiet before the storm or the peacefulness of the ocean before a tsunami.

Yumi placed a hand to her chest and took deep breaths to calm her heart, willing the ridiculous negative thoughts out of her head.

"Onee-sama?" Touko called from the outside of the bathroom.

"I'll be right out."

Yumi swallowed hard. Surely, it was nothing bad. It couldn't be. Whatever the reason was for Sachiko's absence, Yumi was positive (or at least hoped) that it was nothing serious like her grandfather's death earlier this year, nor something terrible like her grandmother's death during their time in high school. Because both times, Sachiko had been distant, especially when her grandmother died.

After one good look at herself in the mirror, she opened the door and walked back to their room.

"Yumi-san, let me fix your hair for you."

Yumi was surprised to find Shimako and Yoshino in their room. They were dressed beautifully, Yoshino with a yellow dress and Shimako's was cream. This made her think that her friends must have went out to shop together, seeing that their clothes were somehow similar to hers.

"Are we really going island hopping or are we attending a garden wedding?" Yumi joked.

"We need to be pretty. We'll be taking lots of pictures since these events are very rare." Shimako answered.

Yumi nodded in understanding. It's true that it was a rare occurrence for them to be complete. And nobody knew when they will be able to have a reunion again, considering that Sei and Youko lived in another country and each of them have their busy lives to live.

With this thought, she let Shimako fix her long brown hair up into a messy bun. Shimako attached a flowery pin to hold Yumi's hair.

"You look gorgeous, Yumi-san" Yoshino beamed.

"You look not so bad yourself" Yumi returned the compliment.

Yoshino then pulled her into a hug, much similar to what Touko did earlier. "I am so happy Yumi-san!"

"Me too."

 _Is Yoshino-san this excited about going on a seaplane and go on island hopping?_ Yumi thought.

"Let's just enjoy the afternoon and take lots of pictures, like what Shimako-san said."

"Oh yes, Yumi-san. We definitely will!" Yoshino exclaimed as she let go of her best friend.

* * *

The four of them soon went to the seaplane dock. There was one aircraft waiting for them. A kind-looking gentleman, which Yumi assumed was their pilot, assisted them in boarding the plane. It was a small plane which could fit at least 5 to 7 passengers.

"Where are the others?" Yumi asked as she settled comfortably and fastened her seatbelt.

"They went on ahead, onee-sama. Don't worry, we'll surely see them there."

They soon took off.

Yumi looked out and was amazed at how beautiful everything looked. The place they just left grew smaller and smaller as the plane ascended, while the ocean appeared vast and large, and Yumi felt so small. It was somehow an overwhelming feeling.

It was few minutes after their departure and Yumi was enjoying the view outside when she felt Touko take hold of her hand and started wrapping a black ribbon on her left wrist. Yumi immediately recognized it as the one she gave to Sachiko many years back. It had been a Christmas present to her then onee-sama when they were still in high school. It was the black ribbon that held so much meaning to both her and Sachiko.

She looked questioningly at her imouto, but Touko just smiled at her and proceeded with what she was doing. When Touko finally tied the ribbon, her petite seour drew her face closer and whispered in Yumi's ear.

"Look outside, onee-sama."

And Yumi did.

Her eyes widened in shock at what she saw. Below them was an island. Its beach spanned a long stretch, shaped like a crescent moon. It was a wonderful sight, with its pure white sand, turquoise waters and lush green trees. But what brought tears to Yumi's eyes was not the scenic view, but the words spelled out on the beach. And in the middle of it stood a lone figure, seemingly looking up at their plane. Despite the distance, Yumi could not mistake it for anyone else.

She covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle her impending sob. However, she was unsuccessful in stopping her tears as warmth spread across her chest. She was overcome with so much emotion and she found it difficult to breathe.

"Onee-sama" Touko said smiling widely.

"You knew?"

"Everybody knew."

Yumi looked at two of her closest friends and they looked back to her with brilliant happy smiles. Yoshino, like her, had tears in her eyes.

Yumi still could not believe it. She looked outside again, as if to confirm that it was not just a dream or a hallucination. But indeed, it was still there. Clearly spelling out those three words…

 _ **Marry me Yumi**_

The plane soon descended and Yumi's heartbeat quickened. She wiped her tears away and held her chest, as if willing to calm down.

When the pilot finally opened the door for them to exit the aircraft, Yumi suddenly found her knees were weak and shaking.

Touko unfastened her seatbelt for her and squeezed her hand.

"Sachiko-sama is waiting" her imouto whispered.

And suddenly, everything that happened that morning made sense. Why they left her to sleep in until the afternoon, why everyone stopped talking when she arrived for lunch, why they exchanged nervous glances whenever she asked for Sachiko, why her closest friends dolled her up and why Touko and Yoshino gave her heart-felt embraces. It was all because they knew and had probably been helping with the preparations.

"Hey, what's taking you so long? Sachiko's losing patience in waiting for your reply" Sei's head soon popped out of side of the seaplane, shaking Yumi out of her musing.

"Yumi-san's nervous" Yoshino said.

"No, she's just overwhelmed." Shimako said.

Yumi once again swallowed hard before taking a shaky step out of the aircraft. Sei escorted her out and gave her a quick embrace.

"Go to her" she whispered.

Yumi looked ahead and found Sachiko standing in the middle of the beach, wearing a dress similar to hers and a beautiful dazzling smile. Yumi felt like a high school student again, looking at the most beautiful girl in the campus from afar and admiring her from a distance. The difference this time is that the said girl was looking back at her, with a wide smile on her lovely face and an expectant look in her eyes.

Yumi took slow unsteady steps towards her lover. Each step matched with the loud beat of her heart. Never taking her eyes off of Sachiko, fearing that the mirage would soon disappear.

She stopped a few steps in front of her beloved.

"I thought you needed a month to sort it out?" Yumi said, disbelief still evident in her eyes.

"Surprise" Sachiko just said.

Yumi raised her eyebrows, still finding it hard to take in everything that was happening.

"It wouldn't be much of a surprise if you knew exactly when I was going to propose, right?" Sachiko continued before she took hold of her lover's left hand.

Yumi noticed that like her, Sachiko was wearing a black ribbon on her left wrist.

"I had a feeling that the divorce would be finalized while we were on vacation. So I asked Yuuki if I could borrow this ribbon for a while."

"Wait, he knew?"

"I visited your house a few days after we got back together and expressed my intentions to your family."

Yumi's eyes widened in disbelief, "they didn't tell me anything."

"Of course, silly." Sachiko laughed.

"So probably that's why my mom and dad kept on telling stories about when I was a kid. They also kept on saying that they'll miss me. But I had been so busy with work to really stop and think about my family's weird behaviour."

Sachiko then brought Yumi's hand to her lips and kissed it tenderly. After giving her a loving look, Sachiko let go of her hand and reached behind her own neck to remove the necklace she was wearing.

Sachiko held it up, "can I put this on you?"

It was a necklace made of white gold, with a ring hanging in the middle instead of a pendant. The ring was likewise white gold, and adorned with a rose-shaped diamond in the middle.

Yumi was speechless and they just stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity.

Sachiko's heart has been beating wildly against her chest as she waited for an answer.

It had been like that since that morning when she told her onee-sama that she received a confirmation that her marriage to Suguru-san had finally been annulled. She had been so anxious since the night before that she hadn't been able to sleep as soundly as Yumi did. And the moment she shared the news with her onee-sama and told her that she intended to propose to Yumi, her onee-sama had been elated. She immediately woke Sei up.

Sei had likewise been so ecstatic that the webs of sleep were cleared from her head the moment the news escaped Youko's lips. But Sei's surprise was nothing compared to Yoshino's shrieks of joy when she had been informed. She was livid at first, that Yumi kept it a secret from her that her best friend's misunderstanding with Sachiko had already been cleared. But when Eriko reminded her that she and Sei were the first ones who attempted to scheme against Yumi and Sachiko, no further protests came out of Yoshino's lips. Instead, she just gave countless suggestions about how the proposal should go.

Sachiko waited patiently for Yumi to snap out of her shock. But with each passing second, Sachiko was starting to get agitated.

"Yumi?" she called out. "Come on, don't space out on me right now. I am waiting" she said anxiously.

Yumi broke into a huge smile and said "Of course it's a yes!"

And the moment those sweet affirmation escaped Yumi's lips, Sachiko's nervousness dissipated and she was overcame with joy. With trembling fingers, she leaned forward to put on the necklace around her _fiancé's_ neck.

Cheers soon erupted from around them as all of their friends surrounded them.

"Congratulations, onee-sama" Touko hugged her and started crying.

"Congratulations, Yumi-sama and Sachiko-sama" Noriko and Nana said before they pulled the still weeping Touko from her arms. It was very unusual for her imouto to be this open about her feelings that Yumi couldn't stop herself from crying as well.

"Touko-chan is just so happy that you are finally able to be with the person you truly love, Yumi-san. And not just some random person you happened to meet."

"Thank you, Yoshino-san. But I am sure those are your own thoughts, and not Touko's."

"No, they were spot on, onee-sama. I feel the same way as Yoshino-sama." Touko said wiping her tears away. "I'm sorry for not controlling my emotions. I have just been so happy since this morning."

After exchanging congratulations with everyone, they soon boarded three separate seaplanes. Sachiko and Yumi had one all to themselves.

The seaplanes departed the island one by one to go back to the main resort island. But midway, Yumi noticed that their plane was going a different direction from their friends' plane. She turned to look at her now fiancé and said "Sachiko, where are we going?"

"We haven't had the chance to really be alone, Yumi. Is it okay if we continue where we left off last night? You said you wanted to return the favour, right?"

"Is that so?" Yumi smiled before she leaned forward to claim her soon-to-be wife's lips. "I love you, Sachiko."

"I love you, Yumi."

Yumi leaned onto Sachiko's shoulders and she absentmindedly caressed her beloved's hands.

Sachiko let a contented smile graze her lips. She was extremely happy that despite being pushed to the edge countless times by their seniors, the game she had played with them had been fun. And in the end, with the ring on her fiancé's chest, it had been _**her schemes**_ that played out well and succeeded.

* * *

 _ **Schemes**_

* * *

 **A/N:** There you have it, the end of Schemes. I hope you enjoyed the story. ^^

Here are the answers to the last three chapters questions, just in case you tried to answer them:

*Caught - Sei, Youko and Rei

*Unexpected Ally - Eriko's Husband

*Schemes - Sachiko

 **Beta note:** And, so like "Still" did about a month ago, now "Schemes" as well comes to an end. I would first of all like to thank Teacher Yumi for letting me work with her on this, as well as probably being allowed more insight than most into this story. Both as a beta as well as a reader, I have enjoyed every step of the story, and I do hope that goes for all you readers as well. Please do feel free to leave a review, as I know the author does read and appreciate it, and while I can't tell you what is coming next, do feel free to follow Teacher Yumi, so you can be a part of what comes next as well.

* * *

 _ ****Teacher Yumi signing off****_


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